Puppet
by Bookworm Gal
Summary: He'd felt helpless before, unable to change what was happening. This was different. This was worse. Someone else was controlling him, bending him to their will. His body moved even as he tried stop. He didn't want to hurt any of them. He desperately wanted to stop. But he couldn't. He was absolutely powerless. He was someone else's puppet and they were pulling the strings.
1. It's All Right 'Cause I'm With Friends

**Yes, I'm writing a story for a trio of music videos with no dialogue that currently last about twelve minutes combined. Technically, I started this back when there were only two videos. Good thing I've already determined that I am completely and utterly insane. Otherwise I might be worried about the condition of my brain.**

 **Since we currently don't know a lot about what is planned for the rest of the music videos in the story arc, none us know how the situation with Shiromori and Mystery will be handled. So let's just assume that this story mostly ignores her. She took a wrong turn at Albuquerque along the way and never managed to reach Mystery and the others. There are reasons most of the world depends on maps and GPS instead of tracking the essence of people in the form of representational flowers. Anything after "Freaking Out" doesn't count for this story.**

 **I fully admit it. This is just an insane idea. Just go with it, please. The first chapter mostly sets the stage, but things should pick up soon.**

Puppet

Once, Arthur would have found it strange and utterly terrifying to drive his van down a dark and empty interstate with a supernatural shapeshifter with rather sharp fangs sitting beside him and a powerful ghost lurking silently in the back.

Of course, it would have been strange once to be driving predominantly on one of these trips. Technically it was his van, but that only seemed to matter while they were in their home town and he was using it for everyday stuff. Whenever they went on one of their paranormal investigations, Arthur generally only took a turn driving when someone else needed a break. That was the way it was back then. Once upon a time, it was always his best friend behind the wheel.

Then everything changed. Everything was ripped apart in the course of a single night. Their lives were torn apart all because of that stupid cave and the thing that dwelled there. The memory made him unconsciously tighten his grip on the steering wheel to the point his metal prosthetic creaked. Arthur forced his hands to relax, not wanting to wake anyone up.

For a while, neither he nor Vivi remembered what happened in the cave. The whole night was a series of mysteries. They simply woke up in the hospital, shocked to find out that Arthur was missing his left arm and no one had a clue what happened to Lewis. He was simply gone. What attacked Arthur? Who dragged Arthur and Vivi back to the van from wherever the attack happened, allowing a passing motorist to spot them before Arthur completely bled out? Why was Vivi out cold at the scene when she was physically unharmed? And where did Lewis go? Neither of them could remember anything that could answer those questions. Not for a long time.

Vivi's memory loss turned out to be from a supernatural source, but Arthur's problems came from good old-fashioned pure trauma. Turns out possession by a malicious entity, intense horror and guilt, unimaginable pain, and extreme blood loss could have negative effects on a guy's mental state. Who knew? He blocked it out of his conscious mind for months. Unfortunately, Arthur's subconscious remembered vividly.

Arthur shook his head tiredly before running his remaining original hand through his blond hair. The nightmares tormented him from the moment he woke up in that hospital, still weak and doped up on pain medication after nearly dying from blood loss and trauma. The horrific memories disguised as dreams haunted his nights even though he couldn't remember anything in the morning except intense fear, complete helplessness, heart-breaking loss, crushing guilt, and the color green. Arthur hated those nightmares, wondering for months if it would be better or worse to actually know why he kept waking in a panic every night. Or why sometimes that panic was accompanied by tears on his face and a scream lodged in his throat. Or why he felt like he'd done _something_ unforgivable. Only after one of their trips brought them to a mysterious and haunted mansion with a furious ghost did Arthur remember one of his nightmares the next day. Only then did he remember the cave.

The dark and empty highway could not hold his attention as he drove, allowing memory to drag him back to that night. All four of them entered the cave, so ignorant of what fate awaited them. They didn't even suspect that anything bad could happen.

Vivi had heard about the location; she'd heard the stories of strange sounds, sights, and feelings that followed anyone who entered and tunnels that did not always lead to the same place as before. The stories were enough to entice the young woman who loved the supernatural so much, but not enough to make her cautious.

Lewis had thought it would be fun. He loved anything that made her eyes sparkle that much with excitement and didn't see any harm. It would be like any of their other paranormal investigations.

Mystery, however, had acted like he was on guard from the moment they parked the van. That should have been enough of a warning for them; Vivi's pet was always the most sensitive to the supernatural. But they didn't notice his behavior at the time.

And Arthur had gone from tired and reluctant to scared stiff when he actually saw the location. He was never particularly excited about walking into a possibly-haunted location in the middle of the night, especially after a long day working for Uncle Lance. But the sheer ominous nature of that cave kicked it up a notch. Every fiber of his being screamed at him to turn around and run away.

But his best friends had wanted to go. They had wanted to explore the creepy cave, just like they wanted to investigate every cursed forest, every haunted house, and every freaky town that might be hiding a secret cult. And just like always, Arthur went with them. Because no matter how much he feared those places, being left behind would be worse.

Stepping into that cave had only made his terror grow. There was something wrong with that place and he'd known it. The strange green mist that seemed to almost glow around them and a feeling of cruel malevolence had left Arthur on the verge of a panic attack. But his best friend let him cling to his shoulder, just like every other time he was afraid. It had helped a little. Ever since they became friends in the fourth grade, Lewis was safety, stability, and comfort. And even gaining Vivi's friendship and Lewis eventually falling in love with her didn't change that. So even while Arthur felt terrified, Lewis stayed close and assured him nothing would happen. He reassured him that everything would be fine. And Arthur had believed him. Even when they split up, Arthur had stayed close to Lewis for protection.

He should have stayed away from all of them. _They_ needed the protection.

Vivi took the lower path while they headed up. Lit by Lewis' torch and the strange green mist, the dark tunnel eventually brought them to the top of a cliff overlooking a large chamber. The cavern was an impressive sight, the stalagmites jutting out of the ground like fangs so far below while green mist wafted around them. But Arthur didn't head closer to the edge to sightsee like Lewis did. His fear of the foreboding place and the unexplained sense that _something is very wrong here_ had kept him back. Arthur kept feeling like something was watching him, waiting to strike.

He was right. The cave wasn't empty. Something was watching him closely. Something that sought out fear and despair, which left one member of the group as an ideal target.

The nameless, shapeless thing that lurked in the cave claimed Arthur that night, latching on. The only warning Arthur had received was a slight chill before his arm started going numb. But not completely numb. Just a strange, detached feeling that spread from his hand up to his shoulder in almost no time. Panic and fear at the sensation gripped Arthur, compelling him to scream or shout or _something_. But his throat had refused to cooperate. He was locked out of his own body. Part of his sight started taking a green tint around the edges and he could see that his arm, where it all started, was changing colors.

Then he'd heard it. A voice in his head, smug and taunting.

" _So many fears. So much terror. Yes, it won't take much to break you. You're already so weak and timid. And do you know what scares you the most?_ "

Arthur had felt his head turn towards where Lewis still stood near the edge, only moments having passed since he walked over there. The blond didn't know what was happening, only that his body was moving against his will and that he was absolutely terrified. He was just a puppet and someone else was pulling the strings.

" _Being alone_."

There was no warning. There was no chance to realize what the entity possessing him intended. Arthur's body moved. It lunged forward as half his face twisted into a vicious grin. Arthur couldn't control his body, but he'd felt his left hand make contact. He'd felt his body push. And he saw his best friend's look of shock, betrayal, and fear as he fell over the edge.

What little control he had left of his body resulted in tears streaming down half of Arthur's face while the entity possessing him laughed. The scream of fright cut off abruptly as stone spikes met flesh. The stalagmites won. They broke and tore through the figure. Even from so high up and mentally collapsing into a swirling vortex of horror, denial, grief, and guilt, Arthur saw the splashes of red that quickly spread. And another voice released a brief heart-breaking wail. Vivi…

" _Look at what you've done. You're already so weak that I barely need to try. Now to take care of the young lady down there_ ," the entity whispered in his head as he begged for it to stop. " _Then we'll see who else you have left. Maybe some fam—_ "

Unimaginable pain had erupted from his left arm, radiating throughout his body and interrupting the entity. Both Arthur and the one possessing him screamed in agony, the young man's body collapsing to the ground. He saw blood, fangs, and a muzzle far too close to his face. And amber-colored glasses.

Through the haze of pain, fear, and sorrow, one part of his mind still managed to ask _Mystery_?

There was a tearing sensation. Not just the physical, white-hot pain of something pulling and ripping at his arm just below the shoulder. There was something else, pulling at the malicious force in his head. The physical and insubstantial tearing almost made Arthur black out in agony.

Then something gave way and the entity was gone. No more voices and no more green. Arthur was back in control again, gasping and shuddering in pain. His entire left side felt warm and wet, he felt nauseous and light-headed, and his vision was going blurry, but it was gone.

He'd tried to raise his head to look for Mystery, but what he saw wasn't the small white dog with black and red markings around his head. The creature had been too tall, too long, and clearly not a dog. He saw about half a dozen tails fanning out behind the creature. And yet somehow Arthur had known this was Mystery.

That didn't stop him from whimpering when the large creature approached him. The blood and fangs was just too much for the miserable, terrified, and exhausted young man. He'd tried to crawl away, but the agony multiplied and his vision went white when he attempted to move his left arm. Something was wrong. Something worse than a bite mark. But he couldn't think. His head was growing too cloudy. His thoughts kept whirling around the entity, the blood, the pain, Mystery, Lewis…

Lewis… He killed… He didn't mean it… No… Please, no…

And right before he'd lost all awareness, he'd heard Mystery speak for the first time. He didn't even have the energy to be surprised about it.

"I'm sorry."

He didn't wake up again until a few days later, with no memory of what happened and nightmares waiting to torment him. Only after the mansion did he remember what tore his arm off and why. Only later did he remember what happened to Lewis…

A cold wet nose nudged his right arm, startling Arthur out of his darker thoughts and memories. Once again, the young man needed to loosen his death grip on the steering wheel. It was probably a good thing there was no traffic in sight during the wee hours of the morning. He'd been too distracted to deal with them properly. He glanced over to the passenger's seat to see Mystery staring at him with a far too knowledgeable gaze.

He might appear to be a regular dog, though one that they'd known for a while was far more intelligent and aware of things than was normal. They knew better now. They'd eventually asked Mystery flat out what he was. Well, they asked once they realized he could talk. He just smiled vaguely and said he was their friend. That was apparently all he would say on the matter. Their best guess was that Mystery was a kitsune or something similar, like a húli jīng. It would explain the shapeshifting and the multiple tails that Arthur glimpsed that awful night. But he still seemed to prefer to stay in his canine form. He was just willing to talk sometimes now.

But even if Arthur ended up nervous about Mystery for a while, nightmares of fangs and blood plaguing him, they knew their "dog" could be trusted. He'd lived with Vivi for years. And Mystery saved him from the entity and from hurting anyone else. An arm was more than a fair price to pay for that help.

Honestly, Arthur knew he should have suffered more for what happened. After all, he got out of that cave alive…

Mystery nudged his arm again, interrupting Arthur's thoughts once more and pulling him back to his surroundings. He moved a little closer, leaning against the blond young man. The warm fur against his side felt rather nice.

"I know what you're doing. Stop dwelling on it again," Mystery said, his voice kept soft so they didn't disturb the others. "You're only harming yourself for no reason with your guilt."

"I'm fine," mumbled Arthur.

Clearly not buying it, he said, "I suppose that means it's my turn to remind you that nothing that happened in the cave was your fault. You were possessed. Your body was controlled by another while it tried to tear your soul apart. You did nothing wrong."

"I know, I know…"

"And it won't happen again," Mystery said, poking his nose at the young man's jacket. "You're safe from that now. No one will control you again."

Arthur glanced down at the star pin firmly attached to his jacket, resting near his heart. He'd started adding a few pins to his orange jacket so it wouldn't be as obvious, but the star pin was the one he really cared about. No one except he and Mystery knew what it really was. It was a safety measure and a sense of security.

Attached to the back of the yellow star and out of casual view were three tiny fragments of stone. He wasn't even certain where or how Mystery got them. He just vanished for about a day not too long after it became obvious that Arthur was remembering. He'd waited until Arthur remembered his nightmarish memories enough to realize Mystery wasn't really a dog. And when Mystery returned from wherever he vanished to, he brought something back: a piece of black jet, a small fragment of light purple amethyst, and a chunk of deep blue turquoise. None of them were bigger than the tiny washers that his hamster liked to steal and all stones that Mystery assured held beneficial properties that would protect him from future possessions.

With the three pieces hidden on the back of his pin, Arthur took comfort from the improvised protective charm. He needed this tangible form of security. He needed the reassurance that nothing would use him to hurt his friends again. He refused to be someone's puppet. And Mystery certainly seemed to prefer this to Arthur's previous idea.

He'd tried to make the dog promise to rip out his throat immediately next time something took over.

"And everything worked out in the end," Mystery continued gently. "We may not have made it out of there unscathed, but we're still here. We're still together. Don't dwell on the past and what you could not prevent. It is better to focus on what you still have in the present and hope for the future." Nuzzling the young man's right shoulder a little, he said, "It's all right. You're not alone. We're still here."

He was right. Arthur knew he was right. Every time one of his friends told him it wasn't his fault, that he shouldn't feel guilty, that they were the ones who dragged him into the cave, and that none of them could have predicted something would be attracted to his fear and possess him, Arthur knew that they were absolutely correct. But it didn't always make him feel any better. It doesn't matter that his mind and his soul would never even consider harming his best friends. It was still his body that performed the crime. He felt his hand as he shoved his best friend to his death. He might have just been the puppet, but that didn't stop the guilt from haunting him. Even when he couldn't remember, his subconscious still felt that guilt.

But Mystery was right about not being alone. They were still with him. Despite everything that happened, it was all right because he was with his friends. And that fact made his regret and sorrow easier to bear.

He glanced at the rearview window briefly. Vivi, the blue-haired young woman wrapped in a blue blanket despite her similarly-colored sweater and scarf, slept soundly in the back. She'd forgotten to take off her glasses before she nodded off and cuddled her toy sea turtle gently, undisturbed by the quiet conversation in the front seat. Slumber was practically the only time that she was still. Her energy and enthusiasm, especially when investigating the paranormal, should be bottled and sold as a coffee substitute. But for now, she seemed absolutely peaceful and perfectly content to rest next to the person she loved most in the world.

The mansion was not as bad as the cave, but it had freaked Arthur out at the time. The van breaking down abruptly in front of a mansion that none of them remembered and was clearly haunted? Arthur knew it would be a disaster. But they'd been out together, trying to distract each other from the last several months and everything that happened since the night they couldn't remember. His lost arm and the prosthetic he'd built to replace it. The nightmares that struck whenever he tried to sleep. Lewis disappearing without a trace and not even a hint of where he might have gone, to the point even the police were no longer searching and his family was losing hope. They'd needed a chance to do something normal again, even if only for a little while. And investigating the paranormal was normal for them, so Arthur followed Vivi inside as that spark of enthusiasm made her lit up like always. Even the weaker ghosts that herded them deeper inside barely fazed her.

When they were separated and Arthur encountered the source of all the supernatural energy, he didn't recognize the powerful ghost. He didn't realize the truth. He wouldn't have wanted to admit the possibility anyway. A ghost that strong? One strong enough to subconsciously create an entire mansion while drawing in weaker ghosts with his mere aura and still being recently dead enough that Arthur saw a brief moment of surprise and sorrow when he realized what he'd become? Even Arthur with his reluctance for anything paranormal learned something from the investigative trips and knew that such a ghost would be fueled by an insane amount of very strong emotions. Like love. Or more likely, hatred and fury. And how could Arthur have even considered the idea that such a ghost could be their missing friend?

He didn't know why the fiery ghost targeted him. He didn't remember the cave then except in his nightmares. All he knew was that something terrifying wanted him dead. So he'd ran.

It should have been a clue when the ghost stopped when Vivi tried to protect Arthur. He should have wondered _why_ and looked harder at the skeletal figure. But he didn't. He just saw a ghost that wanted to kill him and his remaining best friend far too close to the dangerous threat. So he'd grabbed Vivi and ran out of the mansion, an explosion of magenta supernatural fire chasing them. He'd drove them out of there and was simply grateful to have survived.

But that marked the point when he started remembering his nightmares. That marked the point when he knew _why_ he felt so miserable and guilty. That marked the point when he realized Mystery wasn't what he pretended to be and confronted him about the cave. And since he remembered what he did to Lewis, Arthur was able to make the connection and asked the canine if the ghost was his best friend. Mystery confirmed the nightmare was real and that vengeful specter was exactly who the blond young man suspected.

Guilt and grief won out over fear. Arthur knew that Lewis wanted revenge for his death… for his _murder_. And even if he was terrified by what would happen when he saw the ghost again, Arthur still felt responsible. They'd been searching for Lewis for months only to find out that the young man was dead by Arthur's hand…

If Lewis didn't track them down in that stolen truck, Arthur would have sought him out shortly after. He didn't even try to run that time. The blond young man knew Lewis deserved whatever revenge he needed to bring him peace. There was rage and magenta fire, shouts of accusation from the ghost and of protest from a confused Vivi, and resignation and quiet apologies from Arthur as he was pinned against the side of the truck.

He wasn't even sure now what made Lewis pause. It wasn't Vivi that time. He'd blocked her off with a ring of supernatural flames, either to keep her from interfering or to protect her. Maybe it was the fact that Arthur didn't even try to escape, no matter how frightened he was. Maybe something in his expression did it or a part of Lewis buried beneath the burning sense of betrayal and fury still wondered why his best friend would hurt him. But something made Lewis stop and finally notice a change. So instead of the fiery death that Arthur expected, he heard a slightly-echoing voice ask a question.

What happened to his arm?

And when Arthur couldn't bring himself to answer, couldn't bring himself to make excuses for why Lewis died and to tell him that no one could even mourn him properly because they simply couldn't remember… Mystery broke his silence. The dog startled both the ghost and Vivi by speaking, taking the blame for the injury while explaining he did it to save Arthur from the entity possessing him.

From there, everything erupted into chaos. Explanations, questions, confusion, and short-lived denial engulfed the group for a while. Vivi still didn't remember the cave, Lewis didn't want to believe how wrong he'd been, and Arthur didn't want to excuse what happened. But Mystery was stubborn and patient. He refused to quit until he _made_ them understand.

It took a while, but eventually the entire sequence of events of that night was laid bare and somehow Arthur started receiving almost as many apologies as he was giving. Not to mention the hugs. Vivi was always a tactile person, ready to embrace whoever she deemed worthy, so everyone ended up hugged by her eventually. But Arthur didn't expect and certainly didn't feel like he deserved the hug from Lewis as the taller figure muttered repeated apologies, horrified at what he'd almost done to his best friend of many years. Even if Arthur told him it was all right and he deserved to suffer, Lewis kept saying that he'd known Arthur couldn't hurt anyone and he should have trusted him more.

Things didn't immediately go back to normal. How could they? But even with the awkwardness and the varying amounts of guilt, they started picking back up the pieces. They adapted to the talking dog who wasn't _really_ a dog. And once it truly sunk in that he was back and no longer in a murderous state of mind, Lewis' return shook off some of the melancholy that had hung over the others. Proving that death did nothing to affect how much they loved each other, Vivi and Lewis could barely keep their hands off each other for the first few days. As if the other would slip away if they didn't hold on tight. Arthur didn't begrudge them a second of their time together. They deserved it. Their affection and relief to have each other back just proved to him how much they needed each other. And even if it didn't erase the guilt and it took time to get past his gut reaction of _there's a dangerous ghost right there_ , the painful gaping loss of Arthur's best friend began to ease a little.

So seeing a powerful ghost in the back of the van with Vivi's head resting on his chest didn't scare Arthur like it once would have. In fact, catching a glimpse of him in the rearview mirror actually comforted Arthur just like the presence of the supernatural shapeshifter beside him. He wasn't alone. His friends were safe.

While Arthur picked up some facts about the supernatural during his time as a reluctant paranormal investigator, there was plenty he didn't know. He'd been surprised to learn that even if ghosts couldn't properly sleep like the living, they could slip into a state fairly similar to it. Fueled by willpower and emotions, even the dead could grow weary. They could use up too much power or even be harmed enough that they needed rest to recover. Normal fatigue could be dealt with by falling into a still, silent, and unaware state that could almost be considered sleep if it wasn't for the lack of breathing. Extreme levels of exhaustion or damage required more drastic measures to recuperate. Lewis would withdraw into the heart-shaped locket that served as his anchor, his physical connection grounding him to the world and the manifestation of his soul. He would vanish inside, but it was a more drastic measure and left him helpless. So he generally relied on the more sleep-like method, lying in the back of the van like a corpse with only the slow pulsing of his anchor to hint otherwise.

And he certainly needed his rest for tomorrow. One of Lewis' abilities was that he could alter his appearance temporarily into the image of his once living self. Well, it looked like the old Lewis except for his eyes. They were still glowing magenta irises surrounded by darkness. Mystery said it had something to do with eyes being windows to the soul and how it was nearly impossible for the eyes to completely hide something's true nature. Regardless, Lewis could disguise himself for short periods of time, which was necessary if he wanted to interact with other people or even drive without scaring someone. It just took a lot of energy and concentration to maintain and that meant he needed to rest before the upcoming investigation. Lewis getting tired in the middle of it and changing back to his normal appearance right in front of the people who hired them would only lead to panic.

"Mmmhhh," sighed Vivi tiredly, sitting up. Stretching her arms above her head briefly, she crawled towards the front of the van while taking care not to wake her boyfriend. "What time is it?"

Shrugging, Arthur said quietly, "Three-thirty? Maybe four in the morning? I'm not sure."

"Want to pull over and let me drive for a while?"

"I can keep going a little longer. I don't mind."

Leaning over the seat, Vivi asked, "Are you sure? You need to get some sleep too. Busy day tomorrow and everything."

"I'll be fine. That's why they invented coffee and energy drinks."

"Arthur," she said gently. "You have to sleep. And you said the nightmares are less frequent now, right?"

Not taking his eyes off the road, he nodded reluctantly. Vivi knew about the nightmares from the start. He couldn't hide them when she visited him in the hospital every day after he lost his arm and with how often they camped out in the van. She knew Arthur woke up in a horrified panic every night even before they understood _why_. After he started remembering the nightmares, however, they started growing less frequent. They didn't strike every night anymore, but they still happened. He wished they at least wouldn't wake him up. Lewis was shocked the first time he witnessed one of Arthur's nightmares, but Vivi knew how to help by then and held tight until he recognized his surroundings and the shaking slowed.

So Vivi knew how much those nightmares affected him and how much he dreaded them. But she also knew when the last time he actually slept was. And no one ever won an argument against her when she tried to take care of her friends.

"Please let me drive a while," she said. "Just try and get at least a little sleep. Please?"

He knew he couldn't win. Without a word, Arthur slowly eased the van to the side of the road and stopped. Vivi didn't even bother with a door. She just climbed right over the seat and gave him a quick hug.

"Go on. You and Mystery hop in the back. I'll wake you up when we stop for breakfast."

Fighting back a yawn as his body decided to inform him abruptly that she was right about needing sleep, Arthur silently obeyed. The back of the van might not be the most spacious accommodations, the built-in shelves of equipment taking up valuable room, but they'd always found it cozy. He remembered a few trips where no one wanted to waste money on the only seedy hotel in town and all four members of the group piled in together in a nest of blankets and sleeping bags. He missed those days…

Arthur was asleep almost before he realized he was lying down.

 **Technically, I started this story on AO3 a couple years ago before being distracted. But I'm back and I'm slowly posting this story here too as I continue. Expect lots of world-building and some later plot points that I devised a couple years ago that made me raise my eyebrow at the third video in the series. But anyway, I would love to hear what you think.**


	2. Seen This Play Out In My Dream

**Time for the plot to really set into motion. Hopefully you'll enjoy the ride.**

Arthur fell asleep before having the chance to take off his prosthetic arm, but Vivi hadn't started driving yet and Mystery watched her take a moment to detach it from the young man. His rather brilliant designs and modifications made the metal arm far more advanced than anything else available and far more integrated into his body than a normal prosthetic. It left him with far more control and the ability to manipulate it to a similar degree as his original arm. And while it might be mildly problematic to attach it so that everything responded correctly, Vivi could still take it off without disturbing his sleep.

Mystery curled up between the resting ghost and the exhausted young man. Arthur never seemed to get enough sleep. But the small star pin on his jacket did help. Mystery did what he could for his pups.

The stones for the protective charm were carefully selected. Arthur thought they were meant to guard against future possessions and that was true. Arthur would be more vulnerable to such things now, part of his soul shredded by the claws of the entity that Mystery tore from him physically and metaphysically that night. His aura practically screamed vulnerability and injury to those who could sense such things. He needed that protection, especially if they continued to explore the more dangerous parts of the supernatural. But the charm did more than just guard.

Jet to ward off evil, negativity, and psychic attacks. Turquoise for protection against evil, but also for balance and healing, for calm, and for spirit attunement and healing of body and soul. It was also a stone of friendship, something that would also help gradually repair the damage to the young man's soul. And amethyst to calm, to soothe, for purification and regeneration on all levels, and to encourage peaceful slumber. All the pieces of stones were chosen to protect, heal, and ease his suffering.

If Arthur carried guilt from that night, Mystery carried more. He'd sensed something wrong in the cave, an indistinct feeling that raised his hackles. But he couldn't identify or locate it. And when Mystery tried to track it, the trail leading him to follow Arthur and Lewis along the upper path, he still didn't spot the danger until too late. Corrupting green tangling around amber. The entity burrowed into Arthur, trying to claim him body and soul, and it murdered Lewis within moments. There was nothing he could do for the protective, purple-haired young man. He'd failed his pups. All Mystery could do was tear the monster from Arthur while there was something left.

Mystery snuggled closer to the slumbering pair, listening to Arthur's thankfully-calm breathing and the deep steady pulse from the ghost. Even now he regretted harming Arthur. It may have saved his soul and kept the entity from stealing his body permanently, but it was a gamble. Arthur nearly died anyway. Healing spells were not one of his strengths. All Mystery could do was force him into sleep, which didn't take much effort due to blood loss and shock, and slow his heartbeat down to reduce the rate of bleeding. But even with those measures, he would have died if Mystery hadn't gotten him outside and caught the attention of a passing car.

Everyone lost something in the cave. Anonymity, memories, an arm, their life… But no more. Mystery started taking more direct measures to safeguard them. When Arthur began to remember, Mystery provided him protection from future possession. When Lewis returned, Mystery explained the truth and let him be more than another vengeful spirit that lashed out blindly. When Vivi started asking questions, Mystery started teaching magic to her. Nothing dangerous or powerful yet, but the young woman possessed a talent for magic. He'd known that from the start, even before he realized her heritage. And as long as he kept her from the more corrupting forms, she could use it to protect herself from the supernatural entities that they investigated. He gave them the tools and information to keep them safe when his mere presence wasn't enough.

Mystery didn't notice when he dozed off. He only realized it when something disturbed his warm, cozy slumber. A light flickered on and something moved next to him, prompting him to open his eyes.

Lewis sat up carefully, glancing at the sleeping figure of Arthur briefly. Dressed in a black suit with a familiar magenta ascot he wore in life, there was not much left to recognize him by. His face was a floating skull with glowing lights in his dark sockets and his soul was a gold heart-shaped locket, anchoring him to this plane of existence as it pulsed like the constant beat of a drum. The only visible clue to who he once was would be his pompadour, once made of purple hair and now formed from magenta supernatural flames.

Even if he was a head taller than the others, the ghost didn't have any trouble floating over the back of the chairs to claim the passenger seat next to Vivi. Dawn had just broken, meaning it was light enough to conceal the glow of his hair and eyes while putting a glare across the windshield that would make it hard to see his skull. This made it the perfect time for him to be in the front seat.

"Morning, Vivi," said Lewis quietly, his voice possessing a hollow and echoing quality to it. "Have you been up long?"

Leaning towards him as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder, Vivi said, "Not too long. Just a few hours. I managed to talk Arthur into getting a little sleep."

"No nightmares so far?" he asked, glancing back briefly.

She shook her head and said, "He's been quiet. I think he might actually get some rest this time."

"Good. He needs an actual night's sleep without nightmares," he said. After a moment of silence, Lewis looked towards her and said, "At least _one_ of us has been spared remembering that night."

"It would be nice if the two of you didn't have to remember either. Though forgetting didn't really help him avoid the nightmares," said Vivi.

Arthur's memory was buried temporarily by trauma, but Vivi's loss was more permanent. Mystery knew that when she wandered out of the cave like a sleepwalker, splattered in blood not her own and reeking of someone's dying wish. Liminal times, that moment where one thing became another, were powerful instances where almost anything could happen. Day becoming night, a child becoming an adult, one year ending as a new one begins… And crossing from life into death held more potential than most. A desperate soul in that transformative and terrifying moment might be able to achieve a final act. And Lewis, dying and reacting instinctively to Vivi's cry, would want to take away her pain. He was a kind and caring young man and Mystery could draw his conclusions quite easily. Lewis didn't know how or that he even did it, but he stole away her memories of that night so she wouldn't live with that horror.

Mystery rolled a little closer to Arthur, the young man unconsciously wrapping his remaining arm around him like a stuffed toy. He kept still and hoped it would help Arthur remain resting peacefully. Vivi would sometimes do the same thing, especially when she was younger. There was comfort to be found in such proximity.

"So who exactly hired us?" asked Lewis, changing topics.

"Oh, that's a bit of a funny story," she said. "The owners of a small hotel sent an email, practically begging us to come."

"Someone haunting the place and they want the ghost to stop?"

"Actually quite the opposite. There was a ghost haunting one of the rooms from back when it was a fancy house. She didn't do anything much to cause trouble. She'd roam the halls when bored, but mostly she'd sitting in a rocking chair or hum old songs or similar stuff. Or sometimes clean the dishes down in the kitchen or start making beds. People would pay the hotel extra to sleep in the haunted room."

"Some people like the paranormal, huh?" said Lewis, his tone making it clear he was smiling even if a skull wasn't the most expressive face.

Laughing briefly, Vivi said, "Yeah, imagine that. But seriously, the problem is that their ghost hasn't been seen recently. And they want us to find her."

"That's certainly different than our usual calls. Could their ghost have… could she have moved on?"

There was a small amount of hesitation and awkwardness in his echoing voice. Mystery didn't blame him. The fate of ghosts who no longer felt bound to this world and chose to move on suddenly became more personal when one of their members became a ghost. Lewis stayed originally out of fury from a shocking betrayal and his desire to stay with the person he loved most. Now he remained out of friendship, love, and a desire to protect those important to him. None of them wanted to think about when Lewis would someday leave them permanently, whether willingly or forcibly.

"They said she seemed content at their hotel. They claim she got along with the employees when someone encountered her in the hall. A few might even be considered friendly with her. As far as they could tell, she wouldn't move on without at least saying goodbye," Vivi said. "The owners might have just mentioned the lost revenue as their reason for contacting us, but I can read between the lines. They're worried about her."

"Then we'll have to find their missing ghost," said Lewis, tightening his grip around her shoulders into a reassuring hug. "Between the four of us, it shouldn't take long."

No, not long at all. Locating a ghost that should be haunting but wasn't might not be their usual type of investigation, but they should not have much trouble. Especially if she was a peaceful spirit who may have simply grown too weary to do much. It happened. Lewis didn't have the strength after erasing Vivi's memories to immediately manifest as a ghost, taking months to finally form. And then he almost immediately used up too much power with his mansion and the emotion-fueled explosion. Some ghosts have trouble with moderation and control. That would be the most likely explanation for her vanishing. This should be an easy and simple investigation, one that even Arthur should not fear. It should be peaceful and safe for Mystery's pups.

True, they were not truly pups, but he was not truly a dog either. Who and what he once was did not matter. Others learning such knowledge often compelled his people to abandon their human forms and to leave their human spouses and children. But he found ways around such things. Fox-wives might need to leave when their nature was revealed, but he took no spouse and did not wear a human shape. And he may have eventually proven not to be a true dog, but they still did not know for certain what Mystery truly was. He loopholed his way around so that he could have what he desired.

For most of his long life, he'd lived parallel and separate from humanity. He was not the most powerful creature and he was not invulnerable, but he remained safe from harm as long as he stood apart from the rest of the world. He'd observed from a distance, gathering wisdom and skills with age. He watched them pass him by as humanity started to forgot what else roamed the world alongside them. It was a lonely existence and he eventually succumbed to the same desire that plagued so many of his kind. He did not seek a mate, but something simpler. He wanted the companionship of a family. And so he stepped out into the world and became a part of it.

It took time. More time than he would have expected. And he made mistakes. Foolish and dangerous mistakes. But eventually, he gained success.

He found not a bride, but a girl. A bright soul that called out to magic, the supernatural, and those veiled in mystery. Full of energy and life, but also lonely in her own way. He took a form that would serve his purpose; he became what she needed. No matter what he once was, he was now the smart and faithful dog who followed her home. He became her loyal companion and she treated him as family. That was what he wanted.

He chose his family, bringing them together. Vivi, the cheerful young woman that caught his attention with her bright soul and potential for magic. For a time, that was enough. And then he spotted the two other bright souls one day, two young men who looked completely different from each other and yet fit together like a puzzles. But Mystery could see that they still were missing a piece or two. Some humans belong together and were not truly complete alone. Mystery could see instantly that Vivi would fit in that missing gap, that the three of them would be better together. Introducing them to each other merely involved running towards the young men while barking. Everything that happened after was their doing.

These bright souls were the family he chose as his own. He sought them out and claimed them. Whether he called them kits, pups, or children, they were his family to care for and protect. And he cherished them.

"Help me keep an eye out for signs near the next exit," said Vivi. "It's about time for breakfast and we need something a bit more substantial than junk food from the next gas station."

"Assuming there's any decent restaurants around here," Lewis muttered.

"Just because your parents' restaurant is the best doesn't mean all the rest of them are completely terrible," said Vivi with a slightly teasing quality. "We'll find something edible."

"Considering Arthur's definition of 'edible,' it might be for the best I don't have to eat anymore," he said. "I'm surprised he hasn't poisoned himself already."

"Then help me find someplace where we can get a decent meal. I don't want to start investigating on an empty stomach."

Laughing, Lewis said, "Vivi, if you're hoping to eat enough to end up actually full, they'll run out of food first. I've never met anyone who eats as much as you do and still ended up as tiny as you are."

"Where do you think I get enough energy to keep up with my boys and all the trouble they find?"

Mystery's tail wagged briefly as Lewis chuckled at her words. Hopefully they would find breakfast soon. Of course, dogs were not welcome in many locations, but Vivi could talk their way into almost anywhere. He would have the same quality of breakfast as the others or she would plow over everyone with her personality. Maybe they would even have some bacon. That would be a great way to start the day.

* * *

He stared out the window of the house he'd claimed for his purposes, an empty property awaiting someone to buy it and move in. Look at them. All those people scurrying around like insects, acting like their lives actually mattered. They were blind fools. They couldn't see the world beyond their tiny little corner of it. Blind and ignorant. All of them.

And when he went out there, they remained so oblivious. They didn't realize they stood in the presence of their superior. They didn't recognize their future ruler. They did not _see_. Someday, though, he would make them all bow before him. They would see then. He was destined to rule over all these blind fools.

He turned away from the window and watching the pathetic population of the little town. He'd come here because of the only thing of valuable these people possessed. The town didn't have much to offer, but even a single addition was valuable. She wasn't powerful or fierce, but he needed numbers. The more he collected, the sooner his vision would become a reality.

Benjamin Grimm ignored the screams and shouts of frustration and dismay that filled the building. He could order them into silence, but there was no need. Let them rage impotently. They knew who was their master and they could cause him no harm. They must obey him and every order he spoke. His slaves would someday be his obedient and unstoppable army and he would conquer the world. Until then, let them waste their energy in idle yells. They could do nothing else.

Once, he would not have believed in fate. He would have said it was a fairy tale to explain blind luck. But now he knew the truth. This was more than pure luck fueling a fanciful dream. Fate was real and on his side. And his destined future was to become ruler of the world.

It was the only explanation for how everything lined up to guide him to this role. How else would he have found those books, hidden in the back of an old store and covered in dust? Books ignored for possibly decades and found by him, giving him the knowledge he needed about the world beyond the ordinary and a description of a powerful treasure? The spells he learned from the books would have been enough for an ordinary man, but he was not ordinary. How else would he have tracked down the green pendant that now hung around his neck? The artifact made everything he'd done so far possible. It was the reason he would someday rule this world. How else would these gifts come to him if not by fate? He was meant to find them and achieve greatness.

The world deserved to be conquered. So many people ignored the old stories. They forgot the truth of magic, supernatural beings, and ghosts. They did not consider the possibility of using such thing to gain power. They remained ignorant and blind, so he would show them their proper place. The world would not be prepared for his army and all defenses would crumble.

Benjamin went to his belongings. His tomes of knowledge, his list of slaves so far, and his journal filled with his notes lay scattered across the floor. He would need to go out soon to research other locations. The empty house might offer shelter, room to contain his slaves, and anonymity, but it didn't have internet. He would have to leave to find more information. It took time to track his targets, but Benjamin knew he was making progress. Every enslaved soul was another powerful tool at his disposal. He picked up his small notebook and pencil and tucked them into his coat pocket.

Necromancy was such a tragically-forgotten art. Not the sloppy and messy version of dragging corpses from their graves. No, he preferred the more elegant methods that his pendant provided. Binding ghosts to his will felt far more satisfying. And someday he would lead his army of the dead to lay claim to the world.

Walking out of the upstairs bedroom, Benjamin saw his slaves floating in the hallways and the rooms downstairs. Angry glares and desperate misery stared back at him. Some vague shapes, some skeletal figures, and a few concealing their appearances with illusions of their living flesh, they were all ghosts bound to their master's will. He walked past them without hesitation or fear.

With his pendant's power, Benjamin had ensnared and bound each soul. Their anchors were mostly blue from despair or red from frustrated fury that they could not act on, but all of them were cracked. While supernatural damage from an attack could have accounted for it, emotional pain was the cause. Ghosts were fueled by willpower and strong emotions. Break their will or plunge them into a completely hopeless depression long enough and they would crumble. But just as Benjamin's pendant compelled their obedience regardless of their wishes, it also kept them held together. It would do little good if his army fell from the mere stress of being enslaved.

Benjamin stepped out the front door. He didn't bother locking it behind him though. What need did he have for such things? Anyone who grew curious and looked inside would quickly run in fear. He knew this for a fact. The blind and ignorant populace would always fear the supernatural and a house filled with ghosts would be a better deterrent than any lock.

The library was not far. He would research his next haunted location, whichever might be the closest. Soon he would take his army of enslaved ghosts and move on. Every step forward was another step closer to his destiny. Ultimate power and control of the world would belong to him. It only required patience and a little hard work to achieve. In time, he would rise above the scurrying, foolish, and oblivious crowds. In time, he would be seen as the powerful and rightful ruler for this world. And anyone who disagreed would fall.

He chuckled briefly as he hurried down the sidewalk, barely noticing the others walking by or the brightly-colored van that drove past on the street. His thoughts were occupied with far more pleasing topics. All those warnings in the book about how some people indulging in necromancy fall prey to the grips of insanity… It still made him laugh. Those warnings were for the weak and foolish. There was no true danger. Not for someone such as himself. He was right to ignore those warnings when he first uncovered what fate held in store for him. If he'd been meek, Benjamin would not be closing in on his ultimate destiny. The knowledge of how much progress he was making towards that shining dream was enough to bring any man joy.

 **Not as long as the last chapter, but it does introduce our antagonists. A necromancer with delusions of grandeur and a house full of bound and enslaved ghosts. That certainly does not bode well for the group.**


	3. Had Me Feeling Like a Ghost

**Time for our protagonists to start their investigations. Though I doubt that they will go very smoothly...**

The moment they parked the van, everyone tumbled out with tired groans and stretching stiffly. They might be used to long trips in the vehicle, but that didn't mean they were immune to the effects of being cooped up in a confined space for hours on end. Vivi could hear her joints popping and cracking as she stretched upwards and rolled her neck. The movements combined with a full stomach from breakfast left her feeling energized.

"All right, everyone," Vivi said, clapping her hands together. "We should head in and let the staff know we've arrived. Then we'll do a simple walkthrough of the hotel, get a general feel for the place, and see if we can notice anything useful. And if we don't spot any clues about where their ghost is, we'll break out the more hi-tech equipment so we can confirm or deny if she's really gone. How does that sound for a start?"

Running his right hand through his tall blond hair, Arthur nodded. Vivi smiled at their friend. He certainly looked better with a few hours of uninterrupted and peaceful sleep. He just seemed nervous about the upcoming investigation rather than exhausted and nervous. And it was his normal level of nervous instead of something bordering on fear. They could handle that.

"If it means I don't have to carry and set up the heavy equipment yet, I don't mind," said Arthur.

"Hey, I could carry some of it," Lewis said.

Reaching into her pocket and pulling out the sunglasses she kept, Vivi said, "Only a few pieces actually, Lew. Otherwise you'll set off the alarms and sensors the whole time."

Lewis accepted the offered shades with good humor. When he climbed out of the van, their ghost had pulled up the illusion of his living appearance. Skin covered his skull to show his familiar and handsome face, magenta flames concealed by purple hair, and his suit and pulsing anchor hidden away by his white dress shirt and purple vest. But even with the illusion, everything remained as before. He remained a ghost, he needed his anchor that kept beating at a steady rhythm, and he would set off any device meant to detect the supernatural.

And even the illusion wasn't perfect. He needed to remember to avoid floating. His voice still sounded hollow and echoing, though the effect was fainter and easier to miss than in his normal form. And he could not conceal his eyes. So Vivi kept sunglasses for him when they were around other people.

"We wouldn't want that, I suppose," he said dryly. "Our clients wouldn't be happy if we disturbed all their guests with our gear."

"Yeah, my terrified screams should do that perfectly well on its own," said Arthur.

Mystery took up his customary position next to Vivi on one side while Lewis joined her on the other. Her boyfriend took her hand as she stared up at the hotel. The white building looked like a large, old, and expensive house, the kind that would require a dozen servants and a top hat to own. In fact, that was how the place originated. The former house was converted into a hotel, making use of the countless rooms by converting them into bedrooms for the guests. The architecture seemed old and traditional, but it certainly didn't look like a classic haunted house.

"My mansion looked better," muttered Lewis.

" _Your_ mansion was created subconsciously by your mental image of where a ghost should appear, using far more power than you should have expended. You didn't even craft it on purpose," Mystery said quietly, keeping his voice down so no one noticed the talking dog.

"And this place doesn't have creepy portraits or killer suits of armor," said Arthur, edging close to their taller friend for protection. "…Probably."

Grinning at both of her boys, Vivi said, "Well, we won't know until we get inside. Come on. We have a ghost to find."

She ran ahead, forcing the others to chase after her. The front door opened onto a foyer with a grand staircase. There wasn't space for a front desk in the foyer, but there was a tastefully-decorated room attached that would have once served as a sitting room. A lovely fireplace took up the back wall, a few couches in a style that belonged in the Victorian era or something lay scattered around, and a guy stood politely behind a large desk. Vivi made a beeline towards the dark-haired man.

"Good morning, Miss. Checking in? And before you ask, we _do_ allow dogs. I'll be happy to explain our hotel's pet policy if necessary, though I'm certain you'll find it quite reasonable," he greeted.

Taking a moment to read his name tag, Vivi said, "Actually, Robert, I believe you were expecting us. The owner requested the assistance of the Mystery Skulls?"

"Of course," he said with a flash of realization. "You have come here about Ms. Charlotte Baldwin."

"Your missing ghost?" asked Arthur anxiously.

He nodded and said, "That's right. Miss Charlotte has been here for decades. She was a servant for the household before it became a hotel. She was always nice and polite to the staff and the guests. But she's vanished and we're starting to worry."

"Don't worry. We'll figure out what happened to her," Lewis said.

Robert looked momentarily taken back by her boyfriend. Not because of the faint echoing in his voice. He wouldn't have noticed it, the effect harder to detect while he disguised himself and you didn't know to pay attention for it. The man just seemed mildly intimidated by his presence. Lewis, in life and in death, was a tall and broad figure. Even if he was a kind and good-hearted soul, her boyfriend stood over a head taller than most people and was built like a brick wall. Some people might be nervous when first meeting him for that reason, but Vivi had too many fond memories of watching him wrangle his rambunctious adoptive sisters. That mental image was too strong. She couldn't be intimidated by Lewis, regardless of the circumstances.

But Robert shook off the momentary nervousness and said, "Thank you. I'll contact the owners and let them know you've arrived. Do you require anything to assist your efforts?"

"No, we've got it," Vivi said cheerfully. "We'll get started investigating immediately."

"And we'll try not to disturb the guests in the process," added Arthur over his shoulder, Vivi heading back to the front foyer and prompting the others to follow.

There were two main floors of the building, which meant it would be smarter to split up. They could cover more ground like that. Being smart and rational didn't change the fact that none of them were particularly eager to divide into smaller groups. Every single one of them knew that splitting up in the cave probably wouldn't have made things go any better, but they also knew that moment marked the point where everything started going wrong. They barely managed to get reunited together after that. It remained unspoken, but all of them were now uneasy about dividing up during a case.

But this wasn't a cursed cave. This wasn't a dangerous investigation. This was a normal hotel that just happened to usually have a ghost in residence. It was safe. Nothing bad would happen.

"Who wants to check upstairs for clues and who wants the lower floor?" asked Vivi.

Sneezing briefly and shaking his head, Mystery said, "Neither. Anything that might have dwelled here has left. The scent of her power and presence is fading, but still detectable. The ghost is not in this hotel."

Vivi believed him. They'd known for years that her dog was very sensitive to the presence of the paranormal. She used to believe it was simply part of his animal instincts, the way that cats seemed to react to things invisible to humans. Now she knew it was because Mystery was another supernatural creature and they could sometimes sense others. Some possessed better senses and some were better at hiding their presence, but Mystery tended to be more effective than their hi-tech equipment in the van when it came to detecting and locating something spooky. Lewis could sense the supernatural a little; he described it as a prickling in the back of his mind or a shiver up his spine, depending on what exactly they were near. But Mystery was still more skilled.

"Can you track her?" Arthur asked.

"The scent is faint, but I should be able to follow the trail," said Mystery. "Try to keep up."

Her dog bolted out the door, his nose leading the way. Vivi kept an eye out to make sure that Lewis looked like he was running rather than floating, but most of her attention remained on Mystery. He hurried along the sidewalk. He alternated between running and walking, sniffing carefully as he moved. Nothing could distract him. The dog followed the trail stubbornly.

"Whoa," muttered Lewis, pausing in his pursuit.

"What?" Arthur asked, a hint of nervousness and fear edging into his voice.

Shivering slightly, he said, "Up ahead. Ghosts. _Lots_ of ghosts all in one place."

"Really? That's fantastic," said Vivi. "Miss Charlotte is probably there. We've got to check it out."

"That's where Mystery seems to be heading," Lewis said.

"Anyone else starting to get an uneasy feeling about this?" asked Arthur as the others started to pull ahead a little.

Tossing a reassuring smile over her shoulder at him, Vivi said, "Don't worry. Anything happens, we'll keep you safe."

Anything he might have planned to say was interrupted by barking. Mystery might not technically be a real dog, but he took the form of a dog. And that meant that he still possessed many dog-like traits. He liked having his ears scratched, he tended to trust his nose above all other senses, and he could and did bark on occasion. And when he chose to bark, it was best to pay attention.

Vivi spotted the white dog barking at a house. It looked like a normal, two-story house. White wooden siding, black shingles, a small porch with a pair of decorative columns, a few bushes in front, and a stone path leading to the sidewalk, the place would have been perfect for a sitcom. The "For Sale" sign in the front yard made it pretty obvious the place was empty. The house was the type of building you might notice while driving by, comment on how nice it looked, and then forget about it a mile down the road. And yet, Mystery followed Miss Charlotte's trail to place, Lewis said he sensed a lot of other ghosts, and now Mystery was even barking at it. She didn't have to be a paranormal investigator to guess that something weird was going on in the house.

"For a haunted house, it looks very pleasant," said Lewis, staring at the building.

"So the ghosts you noticed are definitely in there?" Arthur asked as he clutched the wrist of his prosthetic.

Lewis nodded and said, "And there are a lot. Or one really, really, really powerful one. I can't really tell."

"Great, _that's_ comforting," Arthur muttered. "And you guys are saying we have to go in there?"

"Our clients hired us to find their ghost," said Vivi. She pointed at the house and said, "Mystery seems pretty certain Miss Charlotte is in there, so we have to get inside."

Sighing with resignation, he said, "Fine. But if I get arrested for breaking and entering, you better bail me out."

With some hesitation, Arthur headed towards the front door. Considering how long he'd been working on all types of vehicle repairs and maintenance in his uncle's business, he'd picked up a lot of skill working with smaller and more delicate pieces of metal too. He could build, repair, or alter various types of machinery and moving parts. And somewhere along the line, Arthur learned how to pick locks. They mostly used it when investigating abandoned buildings, but Vivi had confidence that he could get them into the house. Besides, they would only be in there a few minutes to find the missing ghosts and maybe figure out why so many other ghosts were hiding there. Surely there wouldn't be time to get arrested.

Mystery was no longer barking by the time Arthur reached the door, Vivi and Lewis close behind. Arthur started reaching into his jacket, paused thoughtfully, and then abruptly tried the doorknob. Vivi stared in surprise as it swung open easily.

"Who in the world doesn't lock their front door?" she asked before glancing down at Mystery. "Did you know it was unlocked?"

"How would I know? I couldn't open it anyway. Not all of species are gifted with opposable thumbs," said the dog quietly, smirking at her as he stepped inside.

The four of them stepped inside the front hall of the quiet and empty house. She couldn't even see furniture in any of the adjoining rooms. Everything appeared to be calm, the place completely deserted. Vivi began to silently wonder if Mystery and Lewis were wrong. Then her boyfriend closed the door behind them and the hidden ghosts swarmed out.

Vivi's love of the paranormal instantly kicked in as almost two dozen specters filled the hall, the staircase, the neighboring rooms, and even the space above them near the ceiling. Arthur screamed in surprise and terror, wedging himself between her and Lewis for protection, but Vivi couldn't help marveling at the variety of ghosts on display before her.

Some were the amorphous and inhuman-shaped ones, similar to the Deadbeats at the mansion. They were weaker ghosts with very little memory of ever being alive. They tended to be drawn to other, more powerful ghosts like when the Deadbeats were drawn towards Lewis even before he fully materialized.

Some wore the illusion of life, the biggest hint of their deceased state being how they floated above the ground. Those capable of pulling up such a disguise tended to be more powerful and more aware of their pasts. They were ghosts that could be reasoned with if necessary. They could also be more dangerous.

The majority, however, were the skeletal figures who did not bother with illusions. Some possessed hair made of magical flames of various shades or energy that crackled like electricity or something that seemed to drape across their skulls and drip like liquid or swirl lazily like fog. Others lacked those distinguishing features and would have been identical to each other if not for the clothes.

Vivi stared at them eagerly, forgetting caution for the moment. Lewis, however, always was more practical than her and remembered that not all ghosts were benevolent. He dropped the illusion of his living appearance, letting his sunglasses clatter to the ground. The act both allowed him to save his energy for more important uses if necessary and helped make a point to the other ghosts surrounding them. One hand went to Vivi's left shoulder while the other went to Arthur's right. Everything in his body language declared his intention to protect them if anyone behaved aggressively.

"A ghost he hasn't captured yet," one of the specters whispered.

"Shall he be trapped with us?" hissed another.

"Maybe they'll release us," yet another ghost said quietly. "Break the bonds and set us free."

Vivi frowned at their confusing words while Arthur cringed anxiously. Something strange was going on. Even a quick glance back at Lewis proved that he was uncertain what to make of the situation. Abruptly, Mystery growled softly.

"Necromancy. These ghosts are bound by someone," he said. "How they captured so many, I'm not certain. But it has been done. The stench of that darkness lingers on them."

"Indeed, he seeks to _enslave_ us," hissed a skeletal ghost, red eyes gleaming. "Every word he speaks, we must obey. We cannot leave, we cannot escape, and we cannot resist or ignore his orders."

Then Vivi saw it. Wrapped around their pulsing heart-shaped anchors, crossing them like a large X, was black chains. Though they were different colors to signify their emotional pain and possessed various cracks creeping across their surfaces, every single anchor was chained by the strange dark metal. Their souls were bound, literally and figuratively.

"Who did this?" she asked.

"A man," said another ghost, one who looked like a woman wearing old-fashioned servant's garb. "He came into my hotel and spoke words I didn't understand. It was over before I knew what was happening. Whenever he spoke, my body was no longer my own."

Vivi felt Arthur shiver behind her at the ghost's words and the other specters murmured their agreement that they shared similar experiences. Lewis removed his hands from their shoulders, apparently deciding the danger was not as great as he suspected. These ghosts were not their enemies. They were prisoners in need of help.

"Ms. Charlotte Baldwin, I presume?" Vivi asked.

The lady ghost nodded and said, "I am."

"Well, we were hired to find you and bring you back where you belong," she said, smiling at them. "We'll have to free you from that man if we want to truly fulfill the job. And if we figure out how to undo the spell on Miss Charlotte, we should be able to release everyone else." Vivi looked down at Mystery and asked, "Do you have any ideas how to do it?"

"I might have a few," said Mystery. "Undoing the work of a necromancer is not a task that I have much experience with, but I am certain we can devise something."

"He keeps his books upstairs where we are not permitted. Would those help?" another skeletal ghost asked, his echoing voice containing something approaching hope.

Vivi nodded and said, "Any information could help. If we know how he ensnared everyone, it might be easier to reverse it."

"We'll go upstairs and do the research," said Mystery. "Lewis? Arthur? Would you keep an eye on things downstairs? It might be nice to have some warning if the necromancer returns."

"Wait, you want us to stay here? With all these ghosts?" Arthur squeaked nervously.

Lewis turned towards the smaller young man and said, "If you're worried, then stay close. I won't let anything happen to you."

Vivi smiled at both her boys before sliding past the crowd of ghosts. She and Mystery scurried up the stairs. Her dog instantly led her to one of the doors, his nose steering him faithfully.

She found the promised books and quickly pounced on them. Vivi opened the first one, sitting on the floor so Mystery could read over her shoulder. He would recognize useful information, valuable spells, and traps for the unwary far more easily than she would. He could speed read and knew more about magic than she could even dream of. That made it important for him to have a good view of the text.

He taught Vivi about magic and how to cast spells to protect her from helplessness. She once asked him why he'd decided to teach her specifically and Mystery told her that she was the only one who could use it. She possessed a natural talent for magic, she was not a ghost like Lewis, and her soul was strong enough to wield such power without causing harm. Mystery didn't directly explain why he didn't teach Arthur as well, but she could guess from the dog's expression that his final remark about her soul's strength might be a pretty strong hint.

Mystery warned her against trying random spells from various sources since some would be fakes, some were recorded incorrectly and could backfire, and some were purposefully filled with mistakes intended as booby-traps. So she only learned spells that he taught her or that he'd carefully studied first. Mystery focused on defensive and protective forms of magic, such as charms and shields against threats. But he did provide a few basic spells of a more aggressive nature, the sort of things that could buy her and Arthur a little time when facing a dangerous supernatural entity during an emergency. She'd learned a method for dispelling weak ghosts, spirits, and formless entities from an area and would at least cause discomfort to more powerful ones. She learned a spell to conjure light and energy that could be sent towards a target and could double as a flashlight short-term. She learned how to create fire, something that Mystery assured her worked well on a variety of creatures with and without magic. And she learned a technique for use against magical traps and obstacles, breaking and shattering the opposing spell. That one was harder though and she was still working on it.

Regardless, most of the spells Mystery taught her were simple and fast ones. They were meant for her to use in an emergency, something she could quickly use against whatever threat she faced. Their strength depended on her willpower and emotions rather than the complexity and time invested in the spell. The spell that Mystery finally made her stop on was not a simple one. He even told her that it wasn't quite what the necromancer used, but it should be possible to adapt it to their purposes. The incantation was long and would require a lot more focus than she preferred. But it didn't look like she would have to go back downstairs where the ensnared ghosts were. She should be able to perform the spell in this bedroom, where there would be fewer distractions.

"You should switch these two lines around, ignore this word when reciting, separate this one into two distinct syllables with a clear pause between them," Mystery said, gesturing with his paw at the page. He was making alterations to the spell while Vivi wrote the changes in with a pencil. "And unless you want far more snapback on you than completely necessary, you'll need to add a line here to send the energy back to its source. Otherwise you'll knock yourself out for a few days. How in the world this man captured this many ghosts, I have no idea."

She carefully transcribed the words Mystery recited, the young woman writing them out phonetically rather than worrying about spelling them correctly. She wasn't normally one that advocated writing in books. In fact, she generally disliked people who wrote in the margins of textbooks, library books, or any other type of book. But this was a spell book that belonged to a man who thought it was wise to bind ghosts to his will and she was trying to find a solution to fix it. If there was ever a time to break her usual rules about writing in books, now would be that time.

"Any chance you can do this spell instead?" asked Vivi, still a little uncertain about attempting something so complex without making any mistakes.

"I told you before. Some forms of magic can only be performed by certain types of beings. This spell must be performed by a human," he said. With a brief tail wag, he added, "You'll be fine. You can do this, Vivi. Just take your time and focus on each word."

Vivi nodded and took a deep breath. She let it out slowly and began reciting. She went line by line and word by word, taking care to pronounce them correctly. Incantations were rarely crafted in modern English. She'd encountered spells in Latin, archaic forms of Japanese, ancient Greek, and languages she couldn't even identify. This one seemed to be mostly in Old English, something that made Shakespeare's work seem recent and simple. It might as well be in Norse for all that she comprehended it. But she didn't need to understand the words or Mystery's changes. She just needed to say them and focus on what she wanted the spell to do: break the magic black chains that wrapped around their anchors and bound them.

Using magic was hard to describe. Mystery said that like ghosts, spells were fueled by willpower and emotions. Using them felt mentally and emotionally tiring, which sometimes translated into physical fatigue as well, but Vivi's bubbly and energetic personality made it easier. She drew on that power as she spoke. This time she felt like she was pushing against an invisible barrier, a little like when using her magical-trap-breaking spell. The similarity made sense. She was trying to break another person's spell after all.

The incantation took a long time recite completely and a headache started to form. But Vivi kept at it, taking care not to fumble the words. She spoke the language she didn't understand as she read the worn pages. And as she spoke the final line, Vivi felt something snap and give way.

As she fell silent, her head swam a little. Vivi blinked rapidly as her vision blurred momentarily. She'd put a lot of power into the spell and even with the complexity to strengthen it, the effort took a lot out of her. But she knew it would pass.

Mystery nuzzled her gently and said, "Good girl. You did wonderfully. Take a moment to recover before we go back down. We can use the opportunity to look at the books for hints about how the necromancer did this. I'm still curious how he bound so many."

"Right," she said. "Lewis and Arthur will be fine for a couple more minutes. You read while I catch my breath."

* * *

Benjamin's first hint of something going wrong was when the green pendant around his neck started buzzing. He felt the vibrations, like a phone on silent or a barely-contained swarm of bees, and he couldn't understand why it was happening. The empowered object never reacted like this before. He just knew he needed to return to his claimed house and his enslaved ghosts.

He hurried down the sidewalk, barely restraining himself from breaking into a run and drawing attention to himself. He could not afford such things. He was too distracted to deal with the scampering masses. His notebook of notes held new addresses for other haunted sites, his pendant buzzed with increasing intensity, and his mind raced through various possibilities and ideas. Whatever was happening, he needed to be prepared.

Then his pendant grew still, returning to its normal state. Benjamin was in sight of the house with the "for sale" sign when the buzzing halted. He saw the instant chaos erupted, causing the passing people to scream and his plans to unravel before his eyes.

Ghosts poured out of the building, swarming out of the front and back doors. His enslaved and bound specters were racing out of the house. It should have been impossible. He ordered them to remain inside. The only way that they could leave without his command was if his power over them broke. And only an outside force could be responsible for such a thing. Someone freed his army and undid all of his work.

While everyone else fled in fear of the plague of ghosts racing away in all directions, Benjamin marched furiously towards the source. He headed towards the emptying house with anger burning under his skin. How dare they? How dare they ruin everything he worked to achieve? They did not know who they had challenged by acting this way. Whoever was responsible would pay gravely for this foolish act. He would have some form of compensation for what they stole from him: in pain, in blood, in suffering, or in service.

* * *

Being dead meant Lewis had no choice but to grow used to strange and abrupt things. His very demise was abrupt and strange, being murdered by what originally appeared to be his best friend without warning. Plummeting off that cliff ended his life and thrust him into a new existence filled with untold changes he was forced to adapt to.

His face was gone and left him with only his skull, stealing away most of his ability to express his emotions. Without summoning up an illusion of life, he could not smile, frown, or even shed tears. He needed to focus when he wished to stand on the ground, floating coming more naturally to him. His emotions, especially when he first awakened in his new state, seemed more intense and difficult to control than they did in life. He could feel the presence of other specters and supernatural entities, an odd sensation brushing against the edge of his awareness. He could summon and control magenta ghostly flames with a thought, flames that could provide light and heat like true fire while needing no fuel and only burning what he desired. And where once his heart beat in his chest and kept him among the living, he now possessed a heart-shaped locket that showed what he held most dear and pulsed steadily as it kept him anchored to the world. A heart-shaped locket that existed outside his body for anyone to see.

He'd grown accustomed to all the many changes to his existence since his painful death. He adapted quickly, some of his abilities coming to him naturally and without thought. And once he learned the full truth of what happened that night, Lewis did his best not to speak about what he'd lost or how he regretted his life ending so soon. He did not enjoy seeing sadness in Vivi's beautiful blue eyes and he hated the idea of adding more weight to the guilt that Arthur still seemed to bear. He did his best to focus on the positive. He wasn't gone and he still had his best friend and the woman he loved. No matter what he lost that night in the cave, they were still together. And in the end, they were what he held most dear.

But even if he was now accustomed to many strange things, he could still be startled and surprised by what they encountered during their investigations. And he could certainly be impressed. While Lewis waited downstairs, watching the crowd of anxious ghosts in case their mood should shift and trying to calm Arthur's fear, he saw the black chains wrapped around their anchors abruptly dissolve away. The bindings on the other ghosts vanished, a clear demonstration that Vivi's work upstairs for the last ten minutes had been a success. If he still wore the illusion of his living self, Lewis would have smiled proudly. Even with how strange it was to watch the dark metal dissolve away so easily, Lewis was not surprised she figured out how to do it. His girlfriend was an intelligent and talented young woman.

The reactions of the freed ghosts proved interesting. Lewis saw how they relaxed briefly at the result of the metal chains vanishing. The loss of pressure around their anchors clearly proved a relief to them. And then that moment passed and the various ghosts sprung into action. The abruptness of their movements making Arthur yelp, all the specters fled the house. They shoved and pushed past each other as they raced towards the doors. Lewis stayed close to his friend to ensure Arthur wasn't trampled by the ensuing rush. Only Miss Charlotte hesitated even briefly to nod her thanks before leaving with the rest. In mere moments, there was no one left in the building except for the members of the Mystery Skulls.

"I think that's all of them," said Lewis, easing his steadying grip on his friend. "You all right?"

"Yeah," he said with a nod. "Yeah. That many ghosts just made me nervous. Especially when they swarmed like that."

Lewis said in a mildly teasing tone, "Well, just in case you didn't notice, there's still one ghost around here."

"You don't count. I mean, you don't scare me. Not anymore, at least," Arthur said, gripping the wrist of his prosthetic as he started to pace around the front hall. "Now that you aren't in Vengeful Ghost Mode, you wouldn't hurt me. I trust you, Lewis, and always will. The other ghosts _aren't_ my best friend, so they're still creepy and terrifying."

"That Ms. Charlotte Baldwin seemed rather nice and friendly," said Lewis. "Vivi certainly seemed to like her." He glanced up the stairs and asked, "I wonder what's taking her so long… Should we go up there and check on her?"

A pained yelp and a thump made Lewis turn to his left, spotting Arthur on the floor with his right hand clutching at his head. In that same instant, a dark and slimy-sounding voice hissed out a rapid series of words that Lewis didn't recognize. He spun towards the voice right behind him, protective fury at Arthur's injury already igniting the supernatural flames of his hair higher. But as he moved to act, a strange and unpleasant pressure wrapped around him and the voice finally spoke English.

"Be _still_."

Instantly, Lewis felt himself stop. He wanted to move, to lash out or even just reach down towards the hurt young man beside him. But he couldn't. His body would not respond. He felt locked out and trapped, his arm outstretched in mid-punch. Confusion and panic began to grow as Lewis could do nothing except stare, too stunned to even try to speak.

The man who'd snuck through the front door right behind them appeared to be in his early thirties with dark hair and a scraggly beard that should probably be completely shaved off. He was close to Arthur's height if the young man's tall hairstyle was ignored, but his build was a bit more athletic than Lewis' skinny friend. The man wore an oversized black trench coat that draped on him like a robe. And around his neck was a necklace, the pendant dangling from it old-fashioned and a sickly green shade. Lewis realized the beady-eyed man staring at him in an unnerving manner was the necromancer.

The man was a necromancer and Lewis was a ghost.

"You will not harm me, slave," he said in his oily voice. "If you and your companions steal away my army, then you will have to be the first replacement. That fire I caught a glimpse of will be useful for my purposes. You will use it as I deem fit. And when I leave this place, you will follow me."

"No, he won't," snarled Arthur in sudden anger, practically leaping off the floor and grabbing the man's wrist with his left hand. "Let Lewis _go_."

The necromancer shouted in pain as the blond young man tightened his grip. While his prosthetic couldn't achieve the super strength depicted in science fiction movies since apparently lifting heavy objects while the rest of his body was normal would be more likely to tear him apart than anything else, Arthur's creation did have at least one main advantage over a flesh-and-blood hand. He couldn't lift several tons with it or punch through steel, but the gripping power of his prosthetic could tighten beyond what was normal. Arthur once demonstrated by cracking a brick in half with his grip. So if he applied it to someone's wrist and chose to tighten it beyond his usual levels, the experience could be quite painful for the target.

But after his initial shout of pain, the man yelped, "Knock the boy away."

Lewis' arm, the one halted in mid-punch, jerked to the side. It caught Arthur and knocked him back, breaking his grip on the necromancer. The force did nothing more than send the young man tumbling to the floor again unharmed, but it still horrified the ghost.

A panicked thought flitted around his skull. He didn't mean to do it. He didn't want to do it. His body just acted against his will, completely outside of his control. Lewis felt himself perform the act, but he never meant for it to happen. Then he caught a glimpse of something that terrified him.

Wrapped around his pulsing anchor and the source of the strange pressure he felt was black chains. The same type of black chains that previously bound the other ghosts within the house.

"No. No, no, no, _no_ ," he whispered desperately, the previous shock no longer silencing him.

The man spoke and he was forced to obey. Lewis' own body rebelled against him. He'd become a puppet for the necromancer. He was trapped, forced to obey the man's will.

And Lewis had seen what someone controlled by the whims of another could be forced to do.

"Vivi! Mystery! Help!" shouted Arthur, climbing back to his feet. Panic and worry consumed his expression. "Vivi!"

"What's going on?" she asked, hurrying down the stairs with an armful of books before she caught sight of the scene below. Then in a confused and worried tone, she called, "Lewis?"

"So many annoying thieves," said the necromancer as dangerous growls filled the air, Mystery catching the scent of the man. "Slave, burn this house to the ground and follow me."

"Please, _no_ ," Lewis begged even as he found himself erupting in magenta flames, the force so strong that sections of the ceiling immediately collapsed. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Supernatural magenta flames quickly concealed everything from sight. He didn't want this. He did not want to hurt them. He _refused_ to hurt them with his power. Vivi, Arthur, Mystery… They were the most important people in his entire existence and every part of him fought against the idea of harming them. Even as wood and drywall burned around him, Lewis rebelled at the idea of hurting his friends.

But his body was already turning away, a puppet being pulled by his strings. His anchor darkened to blue, the same blue of Vivi's hair. Painful cracks, small and faint ones, formed a spider web pattern across the surface. He hated this. He hated being used like this against his friends.

Even as the house burned behind him, engulfed in magenta flames, Lewis knew that this was only the start of what the necromancer had planned. And each pulse of his chain-wrapped anchor was a painful reminder that he was ensnared by the man.

 **That escalated quickly. And in case you haven't noticed so far, I've named the chapters after lyrics from the song "Ghost" by Mystery Skull. Also known as the song from the first video.**


	4. And There's No Guarantee

**So I think we can officially say that the protagonists are having a bad day. And it is going to take a while for things to improve.**

Dodging falling pieces of ceiling while everything burned in magenta fire wasn't exactly how Arthur pictured the day going when he first woke up. It was supposed to be a simple and safe job of locating one missing ghost. Finding a house filled with them should have been his first hint that the investigation was taking a turn for the worse. Then there was the talk about a necromancer, spell books, and Vivi and Mystery vanishing upstairs. Nothing good ever came from splitting up in an investigation, no matter how close the separate groups remained or how short the duration. And all his fears, dread, and paranoia proved correct.

The blow from behind made Arthur hit his head when he fell, stunning him. But it didn't stop him from noticing the unknown man and the black chain that formed around his friend's soul. Arthur was many things, but an idiot wasn't one of them. Lewis reacted with as much fear, confusion, and helpless horror as a skull could express. Arthur knew that combination and intensity of emotions because he'd experienced them in the cave; he'd felt them when the cruel and merciless entity possessed him and took control. Arthur realized immediately what the man did to Lewis and his normal fear transformed into hatred.

It wasn't possession, but it was close enough. The necromancer took control and stole Lewis' ability to act. The man even wore a green pendant, the same tint that colored Arthur's nightmares. How dare he? How _dare_ that man make Lewis suffer the same terrifying experience that struck Arthur that night? He didn't deserve it. No one did. Possession and loss of control by any means not only terrified him, but also sparked off his normally-mild temper. And Arthur lashed out.

His fury at the necromancer didn't amount to more than bruising the man's wrist before a pained order forced Lewis to knock him aside. Arthur didn't blame his best friend even if the impact stung. It wasn't his fault. It wasn't his choice. It was the necromancer's doing. And when Vivi and Mystery came rushing down the stairs, the man made it worse. Lewis apologized even as he was forced to conjure his magenta flames into an explosive inferno, bringing down sections of the house immediately.

Arthur dodged the falling fragments of the burning ceiling. He could barely see through the flames as they spread everywhere. But even with the roar and crackle of the magenta fire and the heat pressing against him, Arthur's perpetual fear seemed to have deserted him.

He'd heard the man's orders, he knew Lewis, and he wasn't an idiot.

Watching his surroundings for signs of further collapse, he called, "Vivi? Mystery? Where are you?"

"Arthur? Are you all right? We're stuck on the stairs," Vivi shouted back.

"Hold on."

He couldn't see much past the fire, so he was depending on his memory of the layout of the house. He turned towards where he guessed the staircase to be. The raging magenta inferno blocked his path, promising pain and suffering to any who might draw near. While Arthur suspected there wasn't really a _good_ way to die, burning alive seemed like a particularly horrible death. But he knew and trusted Lewis. So burying what little doubt tried to bubble up, Arthur walked straight into the flames.

The fire felt hot against his skin. Uncomfortably hot. But it didn't hurt him. It didn't burn his body, his hair, or his clothes. And it didn't last long. A few steps and he was through, staring straight at Vivi and Mystery's startled faces.

"Lewis' fire burns only what he wants it to," he explained, "and the guy only told him to burn the _house_. But a collapsing building can still kill us, so we've got to go."

Grabbing his offered hand, Vivi jumped off the crumbling stairs and followed Arthur into the fire. Mystery followed right beside them as they fled through the magenta flames. The sound of cracking wood above them compelled further speed from the group, the instinct to survive kicking in. They managed to dive through the front door just as all structural integrity completely surrendered the fight.

Arthur cringed from where he landed on the front lawn, the loud sounds of breaking wood and the burning fire filling his ears. He couldn't bring himself to move until the noise died down. Only when the racket quieted so only the crackle of fire was left did he risk looking up again.

The house was officially a lost cause. There seemed to be nothing left but supernatural fire and kindling. Arthur's missing fear finally started flooding back. If they were any slower, all three of them would have been killed. The very thought made him shake and his heart race.

"Are any of you hurt?" asked Mystery.

"I'm fine," Vivi said, shifting the books still in her grip. "I think we're both fine." Climbing to her feet unsteadily, she suddenly looked around in dawning horror and said, "Lewis… He took him…"

Arthur reacted to her lost and broken tone instantly, climbing to his feet and wrapping his arms around her. She didn't get the chance last time to react. They didn't know what happened to Lewis the first time. She was more confused and worried. She didn't have the chance to break because it didn't really sink in that he was gone until after Lewis returned. This was closer to how she would have reacted if she remembered his death that night.

It wasn't fair. The necromancer took Lewis, forcing him to walk away against his will. Once again, Arthur had lost his best friend and Vivi lost the one she loved. They lost him. So Arthur wrapped both arms around her, comforting Vivi as much as she comforted him.

"It'll be all right," he mumbled. "We'll find him. We'll get him back."

"I can't lose him. Not again," said Vivi quietly.

Nuzzling the pair, Mystery said, "He's right. We'll find Lewis and save him from the necromancer. And you have the man's books, which should help us. Come on. The longer we wait, the further away he'll drag our friend."

He was right. Arthur and Vivi managed to pull themselves together. They ignored the magenta flames and took off running back down the sidewalk. A few terrified people were just starting to poke their heads out again, but their group barely paid it any attention. They simply ran towards the hotel and the van.

Just as Arthur reached towards the handle of the driver's side door, a voice called out to them. His head snapped around, his fight-or-flight instincts kicking it up a few levels. Arthur barely relaxed when he recognized the man from the front desk.

"Mystery Skulls. Miss Charlotte has returned and she said you were responsible for her safety. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Sorry, but an emergency came up," Vivi shouted rapidly, the young woman and dog piling into the back. "We've got to go, so tell the owners that they can pay over the computer. Sorry."

They didn't wait for a response. They didn't really care about the money at this point anyway. Arthur was already starting the vehicle and backing out of the parking space. Vivi and Mystery focused on the more difficult part.

"This book," said the dog, poking his nose at their collection of tomes while Vivi dumped the new volumes on the floor. "Page fifty-eight. There should be a tracking spell."

"What am I using to connect to him?" she asked, the sounds of flipping pages filling the air.

"Us. The connection between us should be enough to track Lewis."

From Arthur's understanding of both magic and ghosts, that made perfect sense. Tracking spells worked off connections, such as using a belonging to locate an owner or a fragment to find the rest of an object or a magical signature to track the caster or even using blood relations to reunite family members. Ghosts being made of emotions and willpower meant that emotional connections were just as useful as physical objects. Lewis loved Vivi enough to remain after death and Arthur suspected his anchor would show her as what he cherished the most, his heart's desire.

Vivi recited the tracking spell as Arthur pulled the vehicle onto the road, listening for more precise directions to follow. They would find Lewis. They would get him back, no matter where the necromancer tried to hide. The scary guy might not realize it, but they were not giving up their ghost.

At least not without a fight.

* * *

Lewis struggled to handle the boiling cauldron of emotions as the necromancer commanded him to follow him towards the less populated and more secluded parts of the town. He worried about Arthur, Vivi, and Mystery. Even if his fire would not touch them, the man's vague orders not enough to compel _that_ from the ghost, Lewis knew they could still be hurt by the damage to the house. He hated being used like that, hated feeling helpless, and hated the man who was the cause. He felt miserable and frustrated as his cracked anchor pulsed painfully within the confines of the black chains. Combine all those emotions together with the fact that being a ghost heightened all his feelings anyway and he was left as an emotional mess.

He'd tried to discretely pull at the chains when the man wasn't looking. He didn't have much hope of it doing anything since the other ghosts would have undoubtedly tried, but Lewis couldn't help making the attempt. He quickly learned not to bother. It not only failed to even move the black chains, but it also stung rather sharply. Magic was clearly the only method that would work.

The man finally stopped in front of a dark green car that was at least half a decade old, complete with a few dents. Lewis couldn't help thinking it wouldn't be very uncomfortable in there. Small cars and being above average height did not make a good combination.

"Do you actually think the both of us will fit in there?" asked Lewis, putting as much venom as possible into his words while he could still speak. "If that's how you were transporting the other ghosts, then that has to be the ugliest clown car in the world."

"I don't appreciate an attitude from my slaves."

"Well, I don't appreciate being enslaved by some crazed lunatic either. Looks like neither of us are having a good day," said Lewis sharply, the flames on his head flaring up for a moment.

"And as long as I have this," he said, touching the pendant around his neck, "your day is unlikely to improve. Ever."

Well, that provided a few answers. His ability to ensnare so many ghosts must be connected to the green pendant the necromancer wore. Enchanted objects weren't common, though fakes tended to show up all over the place. But real magic objects did exist. Lewis stared at it with glowing eyes, a desperate and thin hope flickering.

He didn't pause to think or give the man a chance to realize how the ghost might use that information. The necromancer commanded Lewis not to harm him, but that left plenty of room for interpretation. A skeletal hand lashed out, grabbing onto the green gem.

" _Stop_."

Lewis body locked up, unable to crush the pendant as he wanted or even loosen his grip. Frustration and despair burned through him. _No_. He was so close. His anchor beat against the pressure of the chains, helpless rage making his bones shudder against the desperate verbal order. All Lewis could do was glare at the man while held in place by the spell's power.

"Let go of the pendant and never touch it or try to damage it again," the necromancer commanded.

His hand unclenched and he dropped his arm back to his side. Magenta flames flare up again in response to his hatred of the man and the situation. He was so close to escaping. He could have broken the spell. But with a few words, the man took away that single chance.

The necromancer was right. Lewis was his slave. He was a puppet.

"Now is there anything you want to say for yourself? Any explanation for that futile attempt?"

It wasn't an order. Lewis could choose to remain silent. He couldn't move because the command to stop still held him in place, but his voice remained his own for the moment. He could keep quiet if he wanted. But Lewis would rather make certain the necromancer knew what he faced.

"If I didn't let death itself keep me from what I wanted, what makes you think you can hold me for long? We both know more powerful emotions at the end create more powerful ghosts and I remained for the woman I love and out of hatred for the one who killed me. You can't get more intense than that. And I investigated the supernatural in life and I've only learned more since. So I _will_ escape your control in time and you'll be left with a powerful ghost with plenty of reason to dislike you." He stared at the man firmly, letting his eyes brighten within their sockets. "You have no idea what you're doing. You have no idea what you're risking by playing with the supernatural. If you aren't careful, it can maim or kill."

The necromancer didn't even flinch. The other ghosts probably would have already threatened and ranted at the man. They were probably more creative and scary about it too. Lewis didn't have much experience terrifying someone, frightening Arthur at the mansion notwithstanding.

"That rebellious attitude won't last long, slave," said the necromancer. "You'll learn your place. You'll realize that there is no escape."

"Your other ghosts escaped," Lewis said. "We freed them."

A flash of fury overtook the man's features briefly at the mention of the loss. Lewis would have grinned smugly if he had a proper face at the moment. It was a small victory against the necromantic puppeteer, but it was better than nothing.

"Bow, slave," ordered the man. "Bow to your master. Bow to Benjamin Grimm, the future ruler of the world."

He tried to resist the command. He tried to fight against it. But Lewis might have not even bothered with the attempt. His body didn't even hesitate, moving into a deep bow to the horrible man. Lewis' fury burned hotter and brighter in response.

"There. Was that so hard?" asked Benjamin. "Now, to answer your concerns about the space in my car, there's a very simple solution."

The bow finally ending, Lewis straightened back up as quickly as he could manage. He felt disgusted with himself for bowing to this creep, no matter how involuntary it was. Maybe he could burn the car before the necromancer could stop him. He would have to be fast—

"Withdraw into your anchor until I call for you," ordered Benjamin.

He didn't even waste his energy resisting this time. Lewis just let himself dissolve and fade away, slipping inside the heart-shaped locket. His mind quieted as his body vanished. All that remained was the chained, cracked, and discolored manifestation of his soul.

It wasn't exactly sleep. It wasn't even like a coma, though that description was closer. There were no dreams and few thoughts. All that he could truly experience in the silent and still state was the faintest flickers of frustration, worry, and helplessness. He was buried deep down.

His awareness of his surroundings was faint, only certain sensations and stimuli reaching him. He could feel the pressure of the black chains and the ache of the cracks, but it was too distant and far away for him to pay attention. Even his emotions and few remaining thoughts were muted and dull. He just withdrew into himself. He couldn't even bring himself to properly notice the new distant pressure around him, a hand picking up his anchor. Lewis simply slipped into his deep unconscious state.

* * *

"Am I still going the right way?" asked Arthur, calling over his shoulder.

With most of her attention buried in the newly-stolen spells books, Vivi said, "That's what the tracking spell says. Just stay on this road until I say otherwise."

He gave a brief nod as she refocused on the research. She and Mystery sat in the back of the van with numerous tomes scattered around them. The pair read everything she'd snatched from the necromancer. Knowledge was power and they needed every advantage possible.

Besides, the research kept her mind off the situation. She didn't want to think about Lewis being kidnapped. Last time she lost him, Vivi just knew he was missing and she was partially distracted by Arthur's injury and nightmares. And she didn't _know_ Lewis was in trouble back then. This time, she did. No amount of denial and hope would erase that knowledge.

What would they do if they couldn't save her Lewis? What if she lost him, _truly_ lost him permanently? What would they tell his family?

Vivi pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose, her thoughts skipping over to the topic of the Pepper family and everything that happened after the cave. Telling them that their adopted son was missing and that no one knew what happened to him was hard. But when Lewis returned as a ghost, it was even more difficult to figure out what to say. How do you break that type of news to someone? For the first few weeks, Lewis didn't want to let them know anything. He didn't want his parents or his little sisters to be afraid of him.

But eventually Vivi and Arthur convinced Lewis that it was far worse to leave his family with that uncertainty forever. They approached the topic slowly and gradually, first just letting the Pepper family know that he was back and didn't really remember what happened during the months he was missing. Considering the memory issues Vivi and Arthur experienced, that was easy for them to accept. Only once they were certain the Peppers had come to terms with Lewis actually returning did Vivi and Arthur explain that he didn't come back the way he left. After making Arthur promise not to confess or take on more guilt than he deserved, Vivi told them there was an accident and Lewis fell to his death. It wasn't an easy thing to accept, but the Peppers were open-minded enough after all the discussions of ghost investigations that they were willing to believe what the Mystery Skulls told them. Lewis' life was over, but he wasn't truly gone. And that was more than many people got.

Lewis had visited them a few times since then, but always short visits and always wearing his illusionary appearance of how he looked in life. And even then, he only visited his parents during those brief encounters. He didn't dare show them his true form as a skeletal specter. Vivi knew it would break his heart to see his parents and little sisters afraid of him. But even with all the caution he took, at least his family could still see him. At least they knew that he was safe.

Not anymore, though. That guarantee was over. She couldn't tell them he was gone. She could barely consider the idea of losing Lewis forever. Telling the Peppers when they'd barely got him back was unimaginable. She couldn't put them through that. Even if Vivi didn't already have plenty of reason to find her missing boyfriend, the idea of shattering that family's world again certainly provided extra incentive.

"I think I found out how the necromancer bound so many souls," said Mystery abruptly. Tapping a page with his paw, he said, "This book describes an artifact, an enchanted pendant called the Eye of Osiris. Not that it is actually of ancient Egyptian providence, but someone apparently liked the name. It provides the owner with power over the dead and allows him to command more ghosts than any human could manage alone. The pendant is the only explanation."

"The guy _was_ wearing something around his neck," Arthur confirmed.

The dog nodded and said, "The necromancer managed to track down one of the few true magical objects still in the world."

"Benjamin Grimm," interrupted Vivi. "The guy wrote his name on the inside cover of his books."

"Really? The creep's name is Ben?" Arthur asked. "Shouldn't it be something like Damian or Vlad?"

"His parents didn't know he would delve into some of the darkest forms of magic," said Mystery distractedly. "Regardless, while he will undoubtedly know other spells, we need to focus on removing or disabling that pendant. That should free Lewis and will keep him from enslaving other ghosts." He looked at Vivi and said, "If you can't get close enough to Lewis and get all the way through the spell, I'll try to get the pendant away from the necromancer. Either method will free him."

"And me?" Arthur asked.

"You can assist me in trying to grab the pendant if we get the chance, punching the man in the face, or anything else you can think of to help," said Mystery. "Just do what you do best when the time comes, Arthur."

"Run away screaming in terror? Not sure how much good that'll do," he muttered dryly.

Vivi said, "You can do more than that. We all know it. And between the three of us, we'll have Lewis back in no time."

As she spoke, Vivi almost believed her own words. She did her best to embrace that confidence. She needed to believe that they could get him back. They all needed that hope.

Her tracking spell reacted, a slight tugging sensation at the back of her mind, causing Vivi's head to glance away from her books. The young woman took a moment to confirm the change before turning her attention to Arthur.

"They turned left up ahead," she said.

Peering through the windshield cautiously, Arthur asked, "This one? You sure?"

"It was a while ago, but yeah. We're following their trail, not just moving in a straight line towards them. It's easier this way since we have to stick to roads," she said. "So take the next left and pick up as much speed as possible without being arrested."

"Got it, Vivi."

 **Okay, I'm going to be honest. I started this story about two years ago before getting distracted and stopping. Then the third video came out and I got my inspiration back. But since this category was just added to the site, I never posted this story. Until now. So after this chapter, there will likely be a change in quality because it is far more recent. I just thought I should let you know.**


	5. And It's What I Hate The Most

**And now we reach the section that I wrote more recently. Things are growing more intense for everyone in this chapter. And whether or not you believe me, I actually planned this story out entire before the third video was released. Keep that in mind moving forward.**

He wasn't certain how long he hid within his anchor. Time was difficult to judge in that state. His thoughts and emotions were too sluggish, too muted, and too distant for Lewis to notice the passage of time. He simply existed in a state of limbo until that voice laced with a magical compulsion called to him from the outside world.

"Come out, slave. I require your assistance."

The firm grip on his soul ripped Lewis out, forcing the ghost to manifest once more. He didn't even bother resisting. He was learning which commands he could twist slightly and which left no wiggle room. As the skeletal figure reformed, he looked at everything except the necromancer.

He stood next to the car once again, though the surroundings had changed. They were pulled to the side of the road, a twisting and narrow one bordered by forest on one side and a section of clear ground that eventually gave way to a crumbling cliff edge on the other. He couldn't hear any distant cars or other traffic. There was clearly no one else around for miles and the road was one rarely used.

The sun was beginning to set, meaning almost an entire day had passed while Lewis dwelled within his cracked locket. Or perhaps several days. He couldn't be certain, but he was going to assume it was only a single day. He couldn't tell how far Benjamin drove in the hours since, but the car would go no further. Even if he hadn't grown up as Arthur's best friend, he would have known that much. It didn't take a mechanic to realize the smoke spewing from the engine was a bad sign.

"Tell me what you know about repairing cars," commanded the necromancer.

He couldn't keep quiet. He had to answer the question. But even if Lewis was compelled to tell the man the information, he still had some control in the phrasing. And he would take even the smallest chance to rebel.

"Absolutely nothing," Lewis said. "You kidnapped the wrong guy. Arthur is the one who knows how to repair and build everything."

The look of frustration on Benjamin's face gave him a certain amount of vindictive pleasure. Especially since he knew something that the necromancer didn't. Lewis couldn't repair the car, but he _could_ make it drive again. A little bit of his power and he would be able to transform the vehicle like he did the truck he "borrowed" to chase Arthur once. But the necromancer didn't ask and Lewis didn't intend to share.

"I knew I should have invested in a cellphone," the man muttered. "I mean, I don't have anyone that I generally call..."

"What a surprise," said Lewis with as much sarcasm in just a few words as he could manage. "Who would have guessed you weren't popular?"

"It's too late to do much tonight," he continued, ignoring the interruption. "I suppose the best option would be to camp here for the night and try walking to the nearest town in the morning. There should be a mechanic or at least a phone to call someone."

If they were closer to his hometown, Lewis would have recommended Lance's garage. Assuming he could convince the necromancer without arousing his suspicions, it would have made an excellent way to help his friends find them. Or Arthur's uncle could probably just beat Benjamin senseless on his own and hold him at gunpoint until the necromancer released Lewis. The mental image cheered him up slightly, but Lewis knew it was a mere fantasy. They were too far for anyone who might help him to do anything.

"Slave, gather wood. You may be able to provide light and heat, but I demand a proper fire," commanded Benjamin.

His flames flickered in frustration and fury, his body already in motion to obey. He briefly wondered if he could chuck a piece of firewood at the man's head "accidentally" while gathering it. But Lewis knew that the command that kept him from harming the necromancer would stop him. It held fast and the pressure on his cracked anchor _ached_.

The menial task took him to the forest side of the road and away from Benjamin. And away from the cliff. It didn't matter that he was dead or that he could fly now. Lewis couldn't stand the idea of being near cliffs anymore. His last moments of life were filled with terror, confusion, anger, and sorrow and cliffs brought back those memories far too strongly.

And that irrational fear served as something else to hide. If Arthur ever learned of the dread he felt near cliffs, the young man would add that fact to the mountain of guilt he already carried.

So Lewis took his time gathering the firewood, keeping his distance from the cliff and the annoying necromancer poking at the smoking car engine. He was perfectly content to stay away as long as possible. And when he heard a pained yelp and a snarled curse from Benjamin burning himself on the malfunctioning car, his eyes brightened with malicious glee.

* * *

The most beautiful words that Arthur had heard all day were "We're catching up."

He broke into a relieved smile at Vivi's declaration. It had been a long and stressful day for everyone. They'd been driving all day, stopping only for gas. Only the knowledge that getting stopped by the cops would delay things worse kept him from pushing the van completely over the speed limits. They'd followed where the tracking spell led. And now they might actually be making progress.

The sun had vanished behind the trees, leaving the orange and red sky fading towards darkness. The other side of the road was an empty stretch of stone and dirt that gave way to a cliff. It probably overlooked a river or something, so there was a reasonable chance of fog rising up and swallowing them.

Catching up with the evil necromancer in the dark of the night? Possibly with fog to make it even creepier? Yeah, that sounded about right.

"When you say we're catching up, do you know how close we are to them?" asked Arthur.

Leaping over the chair to the passenger's seat, Mystery glared through the windshield with his ears perked and said, "Close enough that I could track him now. And they aren't moving anymore. They've stopped." He turned his head back. "Stop your spell, Vivi. We don't need it anymore and you should save your strength."

"Right," Vivi said. "Dealing with Benjamin won't be easy."

"Break the spell holding Lewis or get the amulet," reminded Mystery. "Either option will work. The necromancer may have other spells, attack and defensive ones. We must be ready for that. Both of you."

Switching on the headlights, Arthur said, "Hey, leave me out of the magic stuff. I'm useless at that. The best I can do is maybe hit the guy with a rock if I get close."

"Then at least choose a large rock when the time comes," said Mystery before sticking his head out of the window.

Leaning forward, Vivi slid something into the seat next to Arthur and said, "Here. It might work better than a rock."

He risked a quick glance at the object. The long metal bat was one that Vivi kept on one of the higher shelves. It wasn't particularly useful for hunting the supernatural, even after her grandmother slapped an _ofuda_ on it. But when dealing with a drunk frat boy or just some creepy mugger, it worked surprisingly well. She had a mean swing. And maybe the blessed paper tag helped a little. She didn't need to use it often, especially after her boyfriend returned as a fire-summoning ghost. But she kept her "anti-creep stick" in the van. Just in case.

"Thanks, Vi," said Arthur.

The van fell silent for several minutes. Arthur kept his eyes locked on the road, though he caught glimpses of Mystery sniffing the air. He desperately hoped there weren't any cops on the empty road. They were gradually creeping further and further over the speed limit. While he'd managed to control himself earlier, Arthur didn't want to look at the speedometer now. He could already tell they were speeding a lot. Perhaps not the best idea on curvy roads, but he couldn't help it.

As long as they didn't go off the road and eventually over the nearby cliff, then it would be fine.

The soft growl and the rising hackles told him they were close before Mystery said a word. Arthur's grip on the steering wheel tightened.

"Pull over," ordered Mystery. "Pull to the side of the road. We need the element of surprise."

The young man was already obeying even before Mystery finished. He edged the vehicle off the pavement while the rising fog began to thicken, proving that he was _right_ about the weather earlier. As soon as he killed the engine, he realized that he could still make out a faint light in the distance through the mist. A magenta light.

"Lewis," Vivi whispered, seeing the same thing.

Shoving open the door, Arthur grabbed the bat and said, "We'll walk the rest of the way. They won't see us coming."

* * *

He hadn't needed to glare nearly as much when he was alive. He'd considered himself to be a friendly and easy-going person, unless someone messed with his friends or family. But glaring was one of the easier expressions to produce without a proper face and it made his disgust with the man perfectly clear. So with an intensity that only glowing dead eyes could achieve, Lewis glared at the man currently warming himself by the magenta campfire.

Did Benjamin have to look so smug? Wrapped in his jacket and staring at the green amulet around his neck, the necromancer appeared completely unconcerned. He didn't care what Lewis thought or felt. He didn't care that Lewis wanted more than anything to wring the man's neck. He was too confident in his abilities and the spell he used.

Unfortunately, the man was at least partially right. The black chains held fast.

"This would be far simpler if you would accept the inevitable, slave," remarked Benjamin casually. "You are _mine_. You belong to me. You obey me. Rebellion and sulking is pointless."

"This isn't permanent," he said. "You will make a mistake."

"I've heard that before from far more dangerous ghosts. You don't scare me, slave."

His hair flared up in irritation even as his cracked anchor hurt with every pulse. Benjamin was quickly earning Lewis's complete hatred, even more so than when he believed Arthur purposefully shoved him off the cliff. And that was quite the achievement.

"Honestly, his girlfriend's the one you should be afraid of," said Arthur, running out of the darkness without warning.

The blond young man's unexpected arrival startled both of them enough that the necromancer didn't shout an order. All Benjamin managed was to stumble backwards and barely avoid having a bat smack him in the face. Then he twisted to avoid Arthur's questing fingers as he snatched at the amulet. But as soon as his attempted theft failed, Arthur had the good sense to scramble back out of reach.

"But… _How?_ " shouted Benjamin as Vivi and Mystery emerged from the darkness as well. "I ordered him to burn all of you."

"Technically, you told me to burn the house down," Lewis said, his posture relaxing slightly with relief. Despite his refusal to let his flames hurt them, it was reassuring to see them unharmed. "Nothing else."

"Let him go," said Vivi, her beautiful features twisted by protective rage.

Glancing between the new arrivals with a wild expression, Benjamin said, "If I wasn't clear enough before, let me correct it now. Slave, kill them."

Lewis instantly rebelled against the words, straining and struggling even as the black chains tightened painfully and his body was forced into obedience. The cracks were deepening and spreading, thin spiderweb-like lines edging outwards. But he was already figuring out ways around the command. After all, there were quick and efficient ways to kill someone and then there were clumsy and easily-avoided methods of trying to do it.

"I'm sorry," he said, his anchor aching. " _Run_."

Lewis knew that he could flare up, exploding with heat and supernatural flames until only a burnt crater and the necromancer remained. He could summon the Deadbeats, the weaker spirits loyal to his power, and have them attack. He could create a haunted mansion around them and trap them, turning the architecture against them. Lewis knew that if he put his full power and creativity to the task, and if he didn't care about the cost to his strength, he could do exactly what the man ordered.

But what Lewis actually did was focus on Arthur, the fastest member of their team, and went after his best friend with his arms raised to grab him. As if they were little kids again and playing tag.

Arthur, either listening to the warning or his natural survival instincts, took off running. It was like a twisted repeat of the chase from the mansion. Lewis saw Vivi and Mystery out of the corner of his eye, not moving and easy prey, but he remained completely focused on Arthur's fleeing form.

After all, the order was to kill them. It didn't specify which order to do so. And as long as he was _trying_ to achieve that goal, then he was obeying. But that didn't mean he needed to try very hard.

* * *

Book in hand and trying to look more confident than she felt, Vivi tried to ignore her boyfriend chasing after their best friend into the dark and misty forest. They would be fine. Arthur was fast and Lewis was smart.

She and Mystery had the bigger problem.

Benjamin looked more unpleasant than what she remembered from their brief encounter before. The green amulet around his neck hung like a target. But more concerning was the quiet muttering, a spell that she couldn't identify.

"Last chance," she said. "Let Lewis go and you can walk away."

A lie. One that turned her stomach to speak. He'd enslaved all those ghosts. He enslaved _Lewis_. None of them would just let him walk away after that. Not without taking that amulet away at a minimum.

"I will not bargain with thieves," he hissed. "Perhaps if you return as spirits once the slave slaughters you, I could claim your ghosts as well."

His hackles rising and his teeth bared, Mystery growled, "That man will not surrender, Vivi. The necromancer is completely mad, too fond of his power to turn back now."

That caused the man to take a step back, his eyes widening in shock. Benjamin might be familiar with ghosts and magic, but talking animals were apparently more than he bargained for. They weren't exactly a common phenomenon. Everyone had their limits. And even as a medium-sized dog, Mystery could be intimidating if he put his mind to it.

"Listen carefully, necromancer," he continued, a deep growl filling his words. "You _will not_ harm them."

Before Vivi could react, Mystery lunged at the man. The small figure leapt at him, teeth snapping as he targeted either the amulet or Benjamin's throat. But a green light flared up and knocked him back with a yelp.

"Mystery!" yelled Vivi.

Rolling back to his feet and shaking it off, Mystery said, "Shield spell. I guess he has a few more tricks."

Vivi saw Benjamin shake off his previous surprise as his expression grew smug again. But she refused to let that intimidate her. She simply pushed her glasses up further. If that was how the necromancer wanted to do it, then so be it. While Arthur kept Lewis busy, Vivi would use the spell-breaking technique that Mystery had been teaching her.

Hopefully she would be good enough to make it work.

As she gathered her focus for the spell, Arthur came running back out of the fog. Panting hard and starting to stumble, he abruptly tripped over a loose rock. Arthur crashed roughly and the bat tumbled across the ground out of reach.

"Ow," he groaned.

Vivi saw Lewis return to view, her boyfriend pursuing their friend with as much reluctance as possible. She saw his eyes widen when he saw Arthur on the ground, Lewis clearly realizing it would be impossible _not_ to obey the command to kill them now. But within seconds, his expression hardened and he wrenched his eyes away from Arthur even as Vivi watched the damaged locket crack further.

"Run, Mystery," shouted Lewis, his voice echoing more than usual.

* * *

Trying to catch his breath, Arthur couldn't believe that he survived. He fully expected for his best friend to kill him when he tripped. The necromancer's order was pretty clear. But at the last moment, when Arthur was at his most helpless, Lewis suddenly changed targets.

"What are you doing?" snarled Benjamin as Lewis began chasing Mystery instead. "You _had_ him."

Arthur knew what Lewis was doing. Benjamin ordered him to kill them. But he didn't specify which one first. Lewis planned to keep changing targets whenever he got too close, loopholing his way out of harming anyone.

But if Arthur figured it out, then Benjamin would too. And then he would give Lewis more specific orders. He would force Lewis to stick with a target to kill.

Mystery and Vivi knew about magic. They were the ones who could fix this. But Arthur was useless at that stuff. If they wanted to save Lewis, it would be up to those two. Arthur's only way to contribute was as a distraction, letting Mystery and Vivi focus on the necromancer and the amulet.

Arthur needed Lewis to only target him. Which meant that he needed to get Benjamin angry at _him_ specifically.

It only took seconds for him to come to that conclusion, but Arthur was already regretting his decision.

Fingers wrapping around a rock, Arthur shoved himself to his feet and threw his improvised ammunition at Benjamin. Green magical light flared up to block the rock, but it was enough to catch the man's attention.

"Remember me?" Arthur asked, trying to keep his voice from cracking with fear. "The guy who almost broke your wrist? Honestly, you should give up on the ghost-kidnapping thing since you _clearly_ can't give instructions. Let's see how tough you are without your magic. Just you and me."

Sneering at the admittedly weak taunts, Benjamin said, "Oh, I remember you. Slave! If you aren't going to cooperate, I'll leave you no other option. You will grab this young man as quickly as possible and drop him off the cliff. Is _that_ precise enough?"

Arthur paled at the words even as Lewis turned away from the dodging Mystery. He heard the others' voices, calling out to them in worry, but Arthur could barely make out the words over the sound of his heart pounding in his ears. A skull shouldn't be able to look so horrified and scared. More cracks spread across his darkening anchor even as he began to fly towards Arthur again, far faster than before.

"I'm trusting you, Vi," Arthur shouted, running towards the trees once more.

He just needed to buy Vivi and Mystery some time. They would save Lewis. All Arthur needed to do was keep out of reach. He would just keep running, dodging around the trees and hiding in the fog. If there was one thing that Arthur could do better than anyone else, it was running for his life in blind terror.

 **You can probably imagine how surprised I was by the events of the third video. There are definitely some parallels. But as I said before, I planned this before I saw the third video.**


	6. Cause I'm Giving Up Again

**I know this chapter is a bit shorter, but it was the best place to stop. Plus, I'm still making up for vanishing for so long.**

 **And while I did borrow some ideas/details from the third video that just came out, those are limited to Vivi and Mystery at the moment. Everything else has been planned for years.**

"Arthur, you _idiot!_ " shouted Vivi as the two people she loved vanished into the darkness. "What were you thinking?

"He's keeping Lewis occupied so he doesn't hurt anyone," Mystery barked sharply. "He's buying us time. Don't waste it. You know the spell. Break though the man's magic."

Glaring at them, the necromancer asked, "Do you think I am powerless without my slaves? I can handle a girl and her mutt."

The words were met with an animalistic growl. His eyes began to glow red behind his glasses, Mystery calling on a fraction of his power. The glow spread until he was surrounded by the aura of magic. Benjamin took a step back even as he chanted a new spell, his fingers wrapping around his amulet.

Green flames flickered to life around him, flying towards Vivi without a gesture from the man. Self-preservation instinct kicking in even as she marveled at the skill behind the attack, she threw herself out of the way. She rolled across the ground and away from his supernatural fire. Red light flared up to block the attack further, even as she continued with her attempt to dodge. What was it with people and technicolor supernatural flames? Vivi came to a rest next to the metal bat.

"Focus, Vivi. I'll protect you from his spell," said Mystery. The red light wrapped around her like a second skin, warm and humming. "You need to break _his_."

He was right. But breaking the spell on the other ghosts took a lot of time, reading a spell she was unfamiliar with and having to concentrate to get the words right. And there were a lot more distractions this time. She couldn't do that. Not before Lewis managed to grab Arthur or Benjamin managed to shout another order.

She needed something else. She needed to break through his shield and take the amulet instead.

Hesitating a moment, Vivi dropped the spell book and snatched up the bat. She knew the words that she needed, having memorized them like all the spells that Mystery taught her, but it never worked very well in the past. It was never enough to crack through whatever piece of magic that she practiced on.

So maybe it was time to try something a bit different.

Instinct and something that felt like a half-remembered memory guiding her, Vivi began to chant the spell meant to cut and break through magic. But she didn't aim it at Benjamin's power. Not yet. She wasn't throwing herself against that obstacle just yet. She didn't try to break through. Vivi poured her gathering magic, emotions, and willpower into the metal bat. She kept repeating, adding layer upon layer of magic to the object. Making the spell _stronger_.

She hadn't known what she was doing or if it would work when she started her improvised plan, but a pale and icy blue glow began to wrap around the metal bat. Her expression hardened as her determination solidified, her voice never faltering. She kept reciting the spell.

As terrified and worried about the boys as she might be and even though the necromancer continued to throw supernatural fire against Mystery's defenses, Vivi didn't flinch. A grin even spread across her face. She was actually enchanting an object. Everything that she knew said it was _hard_. But it was working. And it should be stronger than what she could do against his shield directly.

 _My sword would be better against this foe_.

Vivi frowned briefly at the strange thought, but didn't let it distract her. She kept pouring her energy and her emotions into the spell, fueling the magic with everything that she was feeling.

Her undying love for Lewis, powerful and unstoppable. Her loving friendship for Arthur, unbreakable and just as intense in a different way. Her familial love for Mystery, unwavering even with the revealed secrets. Her worry for both her boys. Her anger over what the necromancer did to her boyfriend. Her protective fury against those who would harm those that she cared for. Her fear of what would happen if she failed. And her refusal to lose anyone ever again.

The icy blue glow intensified with every second and every syllable.

But as the light and the power from the bat reached a state where it almost felt strong enough to do what she needed, a terrified yelp rang out and sent a cold chill up her spine. Then, risking a quick look away from the chanting necromancer, she caught sight of a magenta glow through the fog.

 _Lewis_.

* * *

Arthur knew that he was lost. He knew that he'd gotten turned around in the dark, in the fog, and among the trees. He knew that he was stumbling in circles and that there was no way to tell if he was running towards or away from Lewis anymore, the ghost not even providing footsteps to flee from. Arthur had nothing to guide him.

But he kept moving. Struggling to catch his breath, stumbling over exposed roots, and pushing through grasping branches, Arthur refused to stop. Fear could keep him moving long after the muscles in his legs burned from the effort. He was fast and desperate. Benjamin might have ordered Lewis to grab him as quickly as possible, but Arthur was always the fastest member of the team. Especially when properly motivated.

Of course, Lewis could now _fly_ …

Another rock shifted under his foot, nearly sending Arthur to the ground as he stumbled clumsily to stay upright. Both arms shot out, catching his balance on one of the trees. The brief pause, his shoes no longer crunching the leaves and his panting not quite so loud, meant that he could hear Vivi's voice raised somewhere ahead of him. And if he could hear her reciting the spell, then he must have gotten turned around enough to end up near the necromancer again. He thought he could almost catch a glimpse of the campfire light through the shadows and the fog. And he was almost certain that darker section of ground must be the road.

Move. He needed to move. Arthur knew that he'd already stayed still too long. He couldn't stop. Shoving himself away from the tree, he started running again.

And immediately hit something large and sturdy. But before Arthur could fall backwards from the surprise impact, something grabbed him and pinned his arms at his sides, earning a startled yelp from Arthur. Even as he was lifted off the ground, he heard frantic, horrified, and echoing words spill out.

"No, no, no, _no, no,_ _ **no**_. Please don't make me do this. I don't want this. Someone stop me. I'm sorry. I can't. Please stop me."

Even as he struggled to break free of the strong hands pinning his arms in place and with his feet kicking at empty air, Arthur managed to see what was happening. Directly in front of his eyes was a familiar heart-shaped locket, now tarnished to a dark bluish-gray and covered with dozens of small cracks around a couple of unsettlingly deep ones. The sight almost hurt more than the black chains still wrapped around it. And as he looked up, Arthur saw the most terrified and desperate skull staring back at him.

"I'm sorry, Arthur. I can't stop. I can't stop myself."

Cold with fear and shaking in the unbreakable grip, Arthur knew that. He knew what it felt like to be forced to do something and helpless to stop it. It was a fate he wouldn't wish on anyone. And no matter how much Lewis might be trying to fight it, they were floating in the direction that the cliff must be waiting.

"No, no, no," whimpered Lewis in absolute terror and panic, his glowing eyes darting wildly. "Stop me. Stop me, please."

"Vivi!" His voice cracking with fear for himself and Lewis, Arthur shouted desperately into the fog. "Mystery! Hurry up! Get the stupid amulet!"

He didn't want to die. Arthur desperately didn't want to die. Not like this. But he _definitely_ didn't want to make Lewis go through what was about to happen. Maybe Arthur still deserved punishment for what happened, but Lewis didn't deserve this. He'd already suffered too much.

If Lewis was forced to do this, it would break him completely.

* * *

His powers were limited in this form, but Mystery had enough to shield Vivi from the necromancer's flames. Fire was a popular weapon, effective against natural and supernatural threats. It was only logical for the man to know the spell. But he wouldn't let it harm her while Vivi laid spells on the bat.

A clever idea from his clever pup. Vivi might even be brighter than her ancestors.

But then the frightened yelp followed by Arthur's shouts rang out and Mystery's hackles rose further. Lewis had the young man and would soon go through with the necromancer's orders. They were running out of time. Another of his pups was about to die.

They needed to end the spell _now_.

Vivi swung the bat and the green shield flared up to meet the impact. A cracking sound echoed slightly, like ice fracturing underfoot on a frozen lake. Breaking, but not yet broken. She swung again, doing more damage and gaining a worried look from the chanting necromancer. The fireballs slowed as the man focused more on his shield. Vivi was making progress.

But not fast enough.

He knew what he needed to do. Mystery didn't want to. It would draw attention. Dangerous attention. _Her_ attention. If she found him, if she found _them_ , then he would lose all of them. She was too dangerous for them to face. Too dangerous, too angry, and too relentless.

But if he didn't risk it, Mystery would lose another pup to death. And he refused to let it happen. Not again.

Calling on his power, Mystery's body began to shift. Stretching and growing, he lost his canine shape within seconds to become something more vulpine. And as each tail quickly uncoiled, Mystery regained access to more and more of his power. As he reclaimed his true shape and his full magic, he directed it towards the shield spell. And he snarled at the necromancer, the man growing pale even as he continued to recite the spell.

This man would not harm his pups. His _kits_. Mystery wouldn't lose them.

He and Vivi would break the shield and take the Eye of Osiris, freeing Lewis. Even if he had to rip the amulet and the necromancer's throat out with his fangs. It would not be the first death that he caused and this one would be far more warranted than some.

* * *

It hurt. Both a dull ache and a sharp pain as the cracks in his anchor deepened and widened competed with the crushing pressure of the black chains binding him. Lewis instinctively wanted to claw at it, to try and make it stop. He wanted it all to stop. He needed someone, _anyone_ , to stop him.

 _You will grab this young man as quickly as possible and drop him off the cliff._

He fought and struggled against the order with all his will. With his entire soul. But even as he tried to resist, he continued floating forward and his grip never loosened around Arthur. His outstretched arms held his best friend firm.

"I don't want to do this, please stop me, help me, I can't, I can't."

His eyes kept darting around. He saw fog. He saw green, red, and blue lights. He saw the edge of the cliff through the darkness, growing more distinctive and clear as he approached.

But he didn't see any way out. He didn't see any loopholes or tricks to get around the order. The best he could do was approach as slowly as possible, the command to hurry only technically for the part about grabbing Arthur. He could slow himself, but he couldn't stop.

He couldn't stop. He couldn't stop what was happening.

And they weren't going to stop him in time.

That realization deepened the cracks in his anchor further, making Lewis shudder. Vivi and Mystery were trying, but it wouldn't be enough.

He was going to kill Arthur. Exactly how he died, falling off a cliff at the hands of his friend. Lewis was about to kill him and he couldn't stop. He was going to murder his best friend.

Just like he tried to before. Like he _wanted_.

But not anymore. It was a mistake. Lewis didn't want this. He didn't _want this_.

"I can't, I can't stop, please."

Not a cliff. Not Arthur. Don't make him do this.

Could a ghost have a panic attack? If he actually needed to breathe, he would be hyperventilating by now. If he could cry in this form, tears would be streaming down this face. But he was at least gasping and his body was shaking from desperate sobs.

He was too close. He was getting so close now. The cliff edge was right there.

Vivi! Mystery! Anyone! Stop him! Please stop him!

"Stop me, someone stop me, I can't—"

" _Lewis_."

Arthur's voice, both clearly scared and yet steady, broke through Lewis' increasingly desperate thoughts and choking emotions. He forced himself to look away from the nearing cliff edge and towards his best friend's face.

Arthur could never hide his emotions. Especially fear. And even if he wasn't struggling any longer and just dangling in Lewis' grip, he was clearly terrified. But Arthur was _smiling_ at him. A comforting, resigned, and reassuring smile that _hurt_ to see.

"It's okay," continued Arthur, keeping his words calm and soothing. "It's okay."

No, it wasn't. How could he say that? How could Arthur claim it was okay? Lewis could see the cliff edge over his friend's shoulder, far too close to ignore. And unless something happened _now_ , it would be over within a few seconds. They were out of time and _he couldn't stop_.

"This isn't you, Lewis. It isn't your fault. You're not doing this. It's not you."

His steady, calm, soothing words and his broken, resigned, reassuring smile weren't right, not when Arthur should be scared out of his mind. He should be panicking and freaking out. Arthur should be fighting against the strong ghostly hands holding him outstretched and carrying him towards his doom.

But his best friend was trying to comforting him. Arthur was somehow forcing himself to remain as calm as possible and push past his own fear. He was trying to do what little that he could to make Lewis feel better. Arthur was trying to help, trying to reassure him that Arthur didn't blame him for what was about to happen. The realization left Lewis caught between the urge to laugh or sob. He was about to murder Arthur and yet he was the one trying to reassure _Lewis_.

"I'm sorry," he choked out, his voice echoing and wavering. "I'm sorry."

"Close your eyes," said Arthur. A few frightened tears slipped out, sliding down his face even as he tried to keep his words steady and calm. But still smiling at him despite everything, Arthur said, "Close your eyes and don't watch. This isn't you, Lewis. Please don't watch."

Maybe he was a coward, but Lewis listened to the request. He closed them. He could hear the others, struggling against each other with magic. He felt himself stop moving forward and he felt Arthur shaking in fear. But he didn't look. He didn't see.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

He couldn't control his body. As if he was a puppet and someone else was pulling the strings. He couldn't control his body, but he still felt it.

Lewis felt his outstretched hands let go.

A frightened scream fell away before cutting off abruptly, as if a knife sliced away the sound. It felt like a stab to the heart. Or at least his anchor. Horror, guilt, despair, and a thousand other intense emotions slammed into him. Stronger than he could bear. Lewis grabbed the locket with a pained sob, collapsing as he heard and _felt_ his anchor crack so hard that it nearly split in half.

Arthur was… He…

Another pained sob shook his frame, too many cracks and the powerful emotions rolling over him with the intensity that only a ghost could hope to achieve. He didn't want this. He never wanted this.

But he _did_ want this once. He tried to kill him, revenge and fury blinding him and too strong to ignore.

Not anymore. Not like this. Lewis didn't want…

He murdered Arthur.

The inhuman, echoing, deafening sound that tore out of him could only be described as a ghostly wail of despair. Magenta flames flared and guttered without rhyme or reason, his emotions too volatile and his pain too much for him to control anything. And his fingers curled tighter around his breaking anchor, trying to fight the feeling of everything falling apart. It almost seemed like fragile thing would shatter completely without his desperate grip and the black chains binding the cracking locket together.

Then, without warning, Lewis felt the black chains crumble into nothing. The necromancer's spell was broken. They did it. He was free.

But it was too late.

 **...Imagine how surprised I was when they released the third video and I saw the parallels to what I had planned for this story...**


	7. This Time I Might Just Disappear

**I don't think anyone was happy about the events of the last chapter... So let's just plow straight ahead into the next one!**

Vivi swung desperately at the shield, each impact producing a sharp sound like cracking ice. Mystery's magic, red and black as it tried to crush the necromancer's power, was as different from Vivi's as his current shape was different from his usual canine form. But she couldn't appreciate the transformation. She needed to focus. With both of them working together, Benjamin wouldn't be able to hold on much longer. Even with the necromancer reciting the spell continuously in an increasingly desperate attempt to protect himself, the shield wouldn't last.

But they were out of time. Arthur shouted at them to hurry a moment before because they must be out of time.

A scream rang out before cutting off just as suddenly, Vivi's heart leaping into her throat in response. _Arthur_.

She swung hard, shouting in desperation and fury. This time, the green shield shattered and Benjamin was knocked off his feet as the bat connected with his stomach. Before Vivi could bring her bat back up, a flash of red, white, and black fur rushed past.

The giant fox pounced on him, numerous tails jerking sharply behind him. Mystery's jaws snapped at him. For a second, Vivi thought that he actually sank his fangs into the necromancer's throat. But the man's screams and cries of terror proved otherwise. And then Mystery yanked his head back, ripping the green amulet free and tossing it away.

An inhuman and echoing wail rang out as Vivi swung her bat down. Icy blue magic met the amulet and shattered the Eye of Osiris into fragments, breaking it physically and ending the spell with the same act.

But even as she stared down at the pieces and even though the despairing cry had faded, Vivi was shaking and blinking back tears. It was over. She broke the spell, so it was over. It was over and everything would be fine now. But why didn't she believe it? Why did she feel like something horrible happened?

Who or what caused the heart-wrenching and unnatural sound?

She didn't hear it anymore. Only Mystery's growls and Benjamin's panicked begging. The man lost a lot of confidence when his amulet broke and a giant fox pinned him to the ground, fangs mere inches from his face. Fangs that Vivi knew were sharp and strong enough to rip a man's arm off. She didn't blame the necromancer for being afraid.

After everything that he'd done, Benjamin _deserved_ to be afraid.

"Don't kill me," begged Benjamin, eyes wide and frightened tears streaming down his face. "Please don't kill me. I'll do anything. Just don't kill me."

"After everything that you've done, I should tear your throat," Mystery growled. "How many innocent souls did you enslave?"

A blur of magenta light streaked past, ripping the prone figure out from under Mystery and bellowing in an echoing voice.

" _How could you? How_ _ **could**_ _you?_ _ **Why**_ _?_ "

Screaming in pain and fear, Benjamin dangled in the grip on a ghost that seemed more fire than substance. One hand clutching his anchor and the other holding the quickly-charring shirt, Lewis glared at the terrified man. Flames danced and swirled around him, no longer confined to his head and nearly concealing his entire body. Hate, rage, and heat rolled off him in waves.

But under the burning anger in his voice was absolute agony.

"Put him down, Lewis," shouted Vivi. "You're burning him."

She needed to get her boyfriend to calm down. The man might deserve the burns from one of his victims, but she couldn't let Lewis do it. He was a kind and gentle soul. Death made his temper a lot more volatile along with all his other emotions, but it didn't change who Lewis was. He would regret hurting the man with his flames eventually.

"Where's Arthur?" Mystery's ears flattened against his head, his voice tinged with worry. "What happened to him, Lewis?"

" _He's_ … he's…" The flames died down as his fingers loosened, dropping Benjamin on the ground. Holding his anchor tighter and curling in on himself, Lewis said dully, "I couldn't stop… I tried…" He floated back a few feet before sinking to the ground as Vivi's stomach followed suit, his voice fading to something fragile and faint. "I… couldn't… stop…"

Shaking her head, Vivi whispered, "No. Please, no. He can't be…"

But even as she spoke, Vivi knew. From the way Lewis' entire body seemed to slump and he clutched his anchor so tightly that she couldn't even see it, she knew exactly what happened. She knew what the necromancer made him do. A sob squeezed her throat, choking her. Vivi knew and she hated it.

 _You will grab this young man as quickly as possible and drop him off the cliff._

Arthur…

Vivi crossed the short distance almost instantly, collapsing to her knees and wrapping her arms around the grieving ghost. She buried her face in his shoulder, weeping softly. Not Arthur. She nearly lost him before, almost bleeding out when he lost his arm. She didn't find out until the aftermath, at the hospital when the doctors came to explain his condition. She didn't have time for it to sink in until after the fact. She nearly lost her best friend the same night that she lost her boyfriend. And now Arthur was gone. He was gone the same way that she lost Lewis, falling off a cliff. And Benjamin made Lewis perform the act.

How cruel could the world be? Making her watch the people that she cared about most kill each other against their will?

"I'm sorry," said Mystery softly. "I failed you again."

Taking a shaking breath, Vivi raised her head and wiped away some of the tears. Mystery stood there, one paw perched on the necromancer's unconscious body. She wasn't certain if he'd passed out from the burns that Lewis caused, shock and fear, or if Mystery did something. But Mystery remained as still as a statue of a six-tailed fox rather than a living creature, his head bowed with regret.

"It's not your fault," said Vivi, her voice choked with tears.

Shaking his skull slowly, Lewis whispered, "It's not your fault, Mystery. It's—"

"Benjamin," interrupted Vivi firmly. "The necromancer. It's his fault. No one else."

She closed her eyes, fighting against further tears. What were they going to do? What would they tell people? What would they tell Lance Kingsman? Arthur's uncle loved him like a son. Everyone could see it. It would break his heart to hear that Arthur… that he…

"We… we can't leave him… down there," said Lewis, his voice wavering and echoing in a way that sounded strangely empty. "My family didn't… They didn't get…"

Vivi opened her eyes, blinking back further tears. They didn't get closure. No one knew that Lewis died in the cave, so no one could properly mourn. They couldn't bury his body or have a funeral because no one knew that he was gone. His family were left with nothing except questions and uncertainty.

This time, they knew. They didn't have unanswered questions. It wasn't much, but they could give Lance that closure. They could _all_ have that closure. They could bring Arthur home.

His voice still faint and the supernatural flames of his hair guttering weakly, Lewis said, "If you… if you bring the van closer, I'll… I'll go down and…"

Vivi swallowed past the lump in her throat and the ache in her chest. It made sense. Lewis could fly. He could float down and… retrieve Arthur from the bottom of the cliff. But part of her wanted to stop him. He shouldn't see that. She didn't want to see what happened to Arthur.

This didn't feel real. It couldn't be real. It couldn't be happening. She couldn't keep losing them.

But Lewis was already pulling away from her, Mystery taking his place beside her. Long tails curled around her protectively, soft and warm. She never saw Mystery like this before, in his larger form. She'd heard Arthur's description though. Now that Benjamin was no longer a threat, there was nothing left to distract her from his appearance. Any other night and she would have loved to see him in his full supernatural glory. But now…

Mystery nuzzled her gently, a cold nose brushing against her cheek. He used to do the same thing when he was a dog instead of a giant fox. Sniffling weakly, Vivi slowly pushed herself to her feet.

The van. She needed to get the van. And do something about their unconscious, slightly crispy necromancer.

* * *

Ignore the sickening dread that floating to the cliff edge caused. Ignore the way his swirling storm of emotions kept threatening to consume him. Embracing his rage and hatred of the necromancer had only served as a very short-lived reprieve from the horrible way that he felt. Ignore the way everything hurt and how every pulse of his anchor seemed to throb sharply through his entire being. Ignore his draining strength, the way his focus seemed to fragment, and that only his tight grip on the locket seemed to be keeping it together.

Ignore it.

Lewis floated down slowly, moving through the fog sluggishly. The cliff wasn't like the one that he fell from, an overhanging ledge over a giant chasm. Nor was the stone a generally smooth surface carved out by human tools and explosives. Rough stone that jutted out at random the whole way down, small gaps where rocks had broken loose and fallen away, and occasionally small ledges barely wide enough to serve as a handhold left the steep surface more chaotic. It would probably be interesting for someone who enjoyed rock-climbing, but Lewis could only stare dully.

One of the rocks stuck out further than the others. And a dark stain made him pause. It took him a few moments to realize that he was staring at blood splashed on the stone.

Arthur hit the rock on the way down. It probably explained why his scream cut off so suddenly.

Why did it feel so hard to breathe? He didn't even _need_ to breathe. And his head seemed to be filled with static.

Lewis kept floating further down. He didn't want to reach the bottom, didn't want to see what he did. But he didn't want to leave Arthur at the bottom of the cliff either, his body battered… broken… dead.

He killed Arthur.

Arthur died.

Lewis murdered him.

That fact twisted and rearranged itself in his head, continuously rewording itself in the static filling his skull. But the truth remained the same no matter how he arranged it. Lewis couldn't escape it. He couldn't deny it. Just like the emotional agony pulsed through him, the knowledge threatened to destroy him.

Maybe it would be better if he just… disappeared…

Light glistened abruptly, his magenta glow reflecting off something in the darkness. Almost against his will, it pulled Lewis' dull gaze.

Partway down the cliff, either half or two-thirds of the way down if he had to guess, was another ledge. No more than a foot or so wide, it was barely enough room for a person to edge along without falling. And as Lewis floated a little closer, he saw another splash of blood on the thin ledge… and the glint of metal… and a dangling shape that he could barely glimpse through the fog…

Hope, tiny and fragile, stabbed through Lewis. In some ways, it almost hurt more than the rest of the emotional turmoil because of how unexpected it was and slipped through like a dagger between the ribs. It couldn't be true. He shouldn't even consider it. And yet Lewis floated a little closer.

Wedged between two rocks on the edge, partially crushed when the figure must have hit the thin ledge and tumbled over the side at _just_ the right angle to get caught, was a familiar metal prosthetic. Dented, scratched, and sparking slightly, the arm wouldn't be operational again anytime soon. But luck let the rocks snag it and the young man attached to the arm.

Dangling limply over the sheer drop, Arthur had certainly looked better. Blood dripped down the side of his head, possibly from hitting one of the jutting rocks above. Further scrapes and scratches ran down his body. His right arm didn't look quite right either. Arthur looked like a man who'd been in a serious car accident… or like he'd fallen off a cliff.

But what made Lewis shake and the pulsing of his anchor stumble from its steady rhythm was the tiny movement of Arthur's chest and the weak and fragile sound of labored breathing.

Breathing.

Arthur was breathing.

Hope combating the more vicious emotions and leaving him feeling worse as the ghost served as their battlefield, Lewis' fingers tightened around his anchor further. It _hurt_ , but he couldn't help the instinctive action. Arthur was breathing. He was battered, broken, bleeding, and dangling precariously over another deadly drop, but Arthur was breathing.

Arthur was alive.

A broken, ragged, and relieved sob tumbled out of Lewis. It hurt. It hurt just like everything else did at the moment. But the pain was worth it because Arthur _was alive_.

A grinding sound, metal sliding against stone, broke through Lewis' unfocused thoughts. The metal prosthetic might have been lucky enough to wedge between a pair of rocks and stopped the fall, but it wasn't a solid or stable arrangement. He was slipping. He _was slipping_ —

Lewis lunged for Arthur as the dented metal arm slid free and he started falling again. Releasing his grip on his anchor, Lewis caught the limp shape in his arms.

He was breathing. It felt weak, unsteady, fragile, and heavily labored, but Arthur was breathing. Lewis could feel his breathing. And, shifting the unconscious figure in his arms to a more stable position, Lewis could feel Arthur's heart beating.

Arthur wasn't dead. Lewis didn't kill him. He wasn't dead.

But he was dying.

Trying to steady himself with an unnecessary breath, Lewis tried to focus. Arthur might be breathing, but he _still_ fell from a cliff and hit rocks on the way down. He was bleeding and could have horrible damage that Lewis couldn't see. A cracked skull. A punctured lung. Internal bleeding. Maybe something worse. He was still in danger and could still die.

Lewis did this. He did this to him.

His anchor throbbed sharply, the constant beat far less steady. And floating back up through the fog took far more effort. Lewis hurt everywhere, the static in his head seemed worse, he felt exhausted, and he couldn't identify the emotions trying to swallow him up anymore. But Arthur needed help. Without help, Arthur might still die. Lewis needed to get him back to the top.

Once he reached level ground again, he saw the van parked near the dying fire. And as Lewis gloated closer, he saw Benjamin slumped against the side of the vehicle with the front of his clothes and his now-exposed chest burned. Mystery, once more a small canine, was still glaring at the unconscious man while Vivi restrained Benjamin with duct tape around his wrists and ankles.

 _Good_.

They both looked up as he drew closer, but he was too tired to react properly. Lewis simply carried Arthur towards the open back doors of the van.

"Lewis?" called Mystery gently. Stepping a little closer and peering at the ghost suspiciously, he asked, "Are you—?"

"He's alive," Lewis interrupted, surprising himself when his voice came out as a wispy and soft whisper. Carefully laying Arthur on the sleeping bag in the back, he said, "He needs a hospital."

Arthur looked so pale and lifeless, his damaged prosthetic still sparking slightly. As if the damage from the fall would finish him off at any moment. And Lewis did this to him. He dropped him from that cliff. He should have found a way to stop it. Even delaying a minute more would have been enough to save Arthur.

Lewis felt vaguely light-headed. Strange since his skull literally floated. And his thoughts seemed to be fragmenting further, slipping between his fingers like the fog around them.

"He's alive?" said Mystery, jumping into the vehicle.

"Wait? _What?_ " Vivi yelped as she scrambled around to see them both better.

Sounds were acting a little funny. Muffled and distant. They could barely get through the static in his skull. And his vision seemed to be going out of focus. His hand resting on the van floor for balance looked blurry now. Wait. Why did he need help with his balance?

And why could he see the van floor through his hand? It wasn't like that before, was it?

Someone was talking, but it was too hard to hear. He couldn't seem to focus. Lewis just felt completely awful and tired and…

Like he might just disappear.

"…ewis…"

Vivi?

"…in…anchor…"

Mystery? What?

Just… leave him alone. Don't want to think. Not about what he'd done.

Hurts… Tired…

White filled his fading vision. Something forced itself right in front of him. Mystery?

"…get in… anchor…"

His anchor? The aching, cracked, and broken thing with an unsteady and uncomfortable beat?

Sluggishly slow, Lewis managed to figure out what he was being told to do. He managed to let go and withdraw into his locket. He plunged down, down, down… His thoughts and emotions grew muted and distant, a merciful relief that he desperately needed. The pain, the guilt, and the overwhelming emotional distress slipped away with the remaining fragments of his consciousness.

* * *

Mystery breathed a sigh of relief as Lewis dissolved into a magenta smoke that vanished into his anchor, though Mystery needed to snag the locket gently with his mouth before it could hit the ground. The situation wasn't ideal, but it would keep Lewis' condition from growing any worse and would give them time to deal with the damage later. He could only worry about saving one pup at a time.

He should have expected something like this though. He should have gotten a closer look at Lewis before letting him go down there, especially with how he'd been clutching at his anchor. He should have been prepared for what the fallout of his enslavement and then the traumatic acts would do to the ghost.

But if Lewis didn't go after Arthur, then none of them would have realized that he still lived. Badly hurt, unconscious, and staining the sleeping bag with his blood, but miraculously alive. He needed immediate help and Mystery doubted that he would have survived if Lewis didn't go after him.

Both of his pups were in serious condition, but at least Lewis shouldn't get any worse as long as he rested in his anchor and they could figure things out. Hopefully…

"What happened to him?" asked Vivi, glancing between Arthur and the anchor in Mystery's mouth anxiously.

Considering how badly Arthur looked right now and how Lewis barely seemed aware of his surroundings as he faded to near transparency before they managed to coax him into the locket, Mystery could understand her concern. He shared it. They cut things far closer than he would have preferred. He carefully set the heart-shaped locket in her hands, his ears flattening and his tail drooping at her little gasp of horror.

The deepest crack nearly split the anchor in half, though several similarly deep and wide cracks branched off from the center one. And other tiny thin lines crisscrossed the surface until it barely looked solid. The locket was left far too fragile and delicate by the damage. And rather than a shiny golden shade, his anchor was tarnished to a dull blackish-gray color.

None of this was comforting when you remembered that it was not a mere trinket but was instead his physical connection grounding him to the world and the manifestation of his soul

"Between the damage caused by the stress the necromancer already did by enslaving him and then being forced to nearly kill Arthur in the same manner that he died…" Mystery shook his head tiredly. "Guilt is a damaging force even for those who _aren't_ beings composed of willpower and emotion."

They'd already seen what it did to Arthur after all, the guilt that he carried for actions that he could not control or prevent…

Vivi closed her eyes, gently hugging the anchor to her chest protectively. Her breath shook a little, but she didn't cry. Not yet. As upset as she might be seeing Arthur and Lewis in their current states, they needed her to remain strong.

"Lewis needs time to see if he can recover," said Mystery firmly, "but Arthur needs a hospital. _Now_. I don't know how badly he is hurt or how much time he has. We need to hurry."

Mystery might have accumulated a lot of knowledge during his long lifespan, but human medicine was not his specialty. He couldn't tell how much damage there might be below the surface. All he knew was that Arthur was unconscious, bleeding, battered enough that he could see the forming bruises already, and his breathing was labored and weak.

Determination hardening her features, Vivi opened her eyes and said, "Fine. Help me drag Benjamin into the van. We're not letting him escape after everything. Then we're breaking some speed limits to the hospital."

While Mystery would have no issue leaving the man there, the spell to compel sleep strong enough to keep him out of it for a few hours, Vivi probably wanted to force the necromancer to face justice. Though true justice would be letting him fall from the same cliff that he ordered Lewis to drop Arthur from. But Mystery would go along with most of her plan. It was a smart course of action.

But…

"I can go with you to the hospital and ensure the necromancer remains asleep until we find one, but I'll have to leave afterwards."

Vivi, already in the act of jumping out of the vehicle to grab the man, froze. Panic briefly flashed across her face.

"I used too much of my power tonight and it'll draw attention," he explained carefully. "Supernatural attention, some of which could be predatory and dangerous. And none of us are in any state to face it. Arthur and Lewis are too vulnerable."

Not to mention that _she_ would certainly notice. Even from half a world away and after centuries, she noticed when he took on his true form to free Arthur from that dark entity. It took her months to reach the site, crossing the ocean and traveling impossible distances, but her petals proved that she was still trying to track him. Only the group's continuous travels helped ensure that she lost the scent again. But she was in the same country somewhere and she would have noticed what he did tonight.

He couldn't let her find him. Or his pups.

"Once you reach the hospital, I'll start leaving false trails to throw off anything dangerous from finding us. And I promise to return as soon as I can, Vivi," he assured.

She gave a slow and hesitant nod. She was a bright young woman and she'd seen enough by now to know that lurked in the darkness. She knew that not all the paranormal and supernatural phenomena that she investigated were safe. And she knew that Lewis and Arthur needed to be kept safe.

Still holding Lewis' anchor protectively with one hand, she grabbed the bound necromancer roughly by his shoulder while Mystery sank his teeth into the man's clothes. And the pair started dragging him into the van.

There wasn't much time for further discussion after all. Arthur may not have much time.

 **I haven't gotten as much feedback for the later chapters as I did the first few. While disheartening, I do understand that this is a smaller fandom than some of mine and that people aren't checking for updates as much now as they did immediately after the third video was posted. But I hope that you're still enjoying the story. Just one chapter left.**


	8. Try And Hear Me Then I'm Done

**After all this time, I've finally reached the final chapter. I really enjoyed this story, even though I took a long break from it. I hope that everyone enjoys this. This chapter is a longer one as I finish up the story.**

The waiting rooms of hospitals, regardless of which hospital it might be, were always the same. And they were always uncomfortable. They were cold from the air conditioning being turned up too high. The fluorescent lights overhead buzzed loudly and cast harsh shadows. The chairs never had enough padding and were always at the perfect angle to ensure a painfully stiff back. Magazines about teenage girls, country life, and world events from at least a decade before rested in stacks on small side tables. There were no windows, meaning that only the clock on the wall showed the passage of time.

Vivi knew she'd been there for hours, listening to the buzzing fluorescent lights and watching the clock. And that was after the hours that she spent repeating the same explanations and answering the same questions to dozens of people. She'd been there long enough for it to be impossibly early in the morning. It had been a long and exhausting evening, time barely moving forward at a torturous crawl. She couldn't even bring herself to look at the ancient magazines. She could only sit there, holding onto the small object in her hands.

They started asking her questions as soon as she pulled the van up to the hospital, a bound man with burns and another with fall injuries both tossed in the back. First, everyone in the ER asked her about what happened as they carried Arthur away from her. Mostly they focused on what happened to him, how high was the cliff, was he awake when she found him after, how to remove the prosthetic since it was more advanced and integrated than what they were familiar with, how Benjamin was burned, did he hit his head, and did she know what caused him to lose consciousness.

Then the police arrived with their own set of questions. What happened? Did she know the other man? Why did she tie him up with duct tape? How did her friend receive his injuries? What was her business in the area?

And then Lance asked a lot of sharp questions when she called him and explained that his nephew was once again in a hospital. Mostly those were worried rantings rather than true questions. The phone call ended abruptly when he demanded to know what tiny town in a different state that she was calling from and stated firmly that he was on his way. But even if he drove constantly the whole way there, it would take time for him to arrive.

She considered calling the Pepper household, but those questions would be too hard to face. She barely survived telling Lance without breaking down into apologies and worried confessions.

Other than Lance, Vivi couldn't tell the full truth about what happened. It would be impossible to explain. But she tried to keep her explanation as close to the truth as possible. She told the police and the ER staff that she and Arthur were camping out rather than continuing to travel all night when some weird guy showed up. She described a crazy, paranoid, and delusional man who began ranting wildly about crazy stuff, like ghosts and creating an undead army under his control. And then, without warning or provocation, the stranger suddenly shoved Arthur off a cliff. Fearing for her friend and for her own life, Vivi claimed that she managed to knock the man into the campfire briefly before knocking him out. After that, she bound the crazy guy up and got both men into the van.

It was a good story. Plenty of drama and it touched on all the important facts. It explained Arthur's injuries and Benjamin's burns. And it gave an excuse for his behavior whenever the necromancer woke up and started talking about ghosts. But best of all, it placed all the blame where it belonged: on Benjamin's head.

But even though everyone made her repeat the explanation about a thousand times and answer the same questions over and over again, each time worded slightly different without actually changing, they eventually left her alone. And that left her with nothing to do except sit and worry.

It would be easier if Mystery was waiting with her, curled up under her seat or even trying to fit in her lap. Dogs weren't supposed to wander around hospitals, but she was good at getting him into unexpected places. But he wasn't there. As soon as they loaded Arthur onto the stretcher and were trying to figure out how to handle the duct-taped necromancer, Mystery ran off into the darkness. Vivi knew why he did it. None of them were in any shape to deal with something supernatural coming after them. But at the same time, she didn't enjoy spending hours alone in the waiting room with only her thoughts and a small locket to keep her company.

Vivi stared down at the heart-shaped locket in her hands. The dark, dull, and cracked metal felt too light and fragile. More like it was made of glass or eggshells instead, hollow and empty. Like it would shatter under the slightest pressure. Her thumb brushed along the deep cracks, part of her aching in sympathy.

She hated this.

Arthur, one of her best friends and probably the closest thing that she had to a younger brother, was probably fighting for his life. He was somewhere hidden in the hospital, taken away by concerned doctors and nurses. He'd been gone for hours and she had no clue what was happening with him. What if he was dead and they just weren't telling her because she wasn't actually related to him or something?

And Lewis, who she loved more than she ever believed possible and not even death had changed those feelings, was in similarly bad condition. Emotional pain could have physical effects on ghosts, at least if they were strong enough. She _knew_ that. Anger, sadness, and so on weren't too bad since those types of feelings were pretty normal, but true grief, absolute terror, or extreme guilt? Emotions of that intensity left their mark. And after everything that the necromancer did to Lewis and made him do against his will, the damage was bound to be bad. His anchor was barely holding itself together and…

Almost everyone she cared about was in trouble and she couldn't do anything to help. She was completely helpless. Again.

Why did horrible things keep happening to them while she escaped unharmed, only losing her memories of a single night?

Tracing her fingers along the deep cracks, she noticed how still the anchor felt. Normally the heart-shaped locket pulsed with a strong and steady beat, one loud enough to be easily heard across a quiet room. A rhythm that she occasionally found herself bobbing her head to when she was bored. But now it was slow and weak, barely detectable against the palms of her hands. Lewis had withdrawn so far, sinking so deeply inside himself, Vivi didn't know if he would recover.

"Lewis," she called softly, her thumb brushing the anchor. "Come back to us. It's all right. I'm here."

Vivi closed her eyes. She wished that she was sitting next to Lewis, his arms around her. He was so warm, sweet, and caring. She wanted him to hold her close and tell her that Arthur would be fine. That everyone would be fine. But right now, he was hurting. Guilt and worry nearly broke him and all she could do was try to ease his emotional distress.

"It wasn't your fault. And you're safe now, Lewis," she continued. "We won't let that necromancer hurt you again."

Vivi pressed a small kiss to the surface of the anchor, trying to comfort him as best that she could when he had no body. The gesture was as close as she could manage to kissing her boyfriend at the moment. She hoped that he could feel it. She hoped that he knew that he was loved and safe.

She could be patient. She would wait for Mystery to come back. She would wait for the doctors to tell her about Arthur's condition. And she would wait for Lewis to recover from the events of that evening. And she would help both of her boys however she could. Even if all that she could do currently was be present and supportive, then she would lend them her strength.

"Ms. Yukino?"

Vivi opened her eyes at the sound of her name and lowered the locket back to her lap. At least she didn't have to make up an excuse about what she was doing. She'd probably looked like she was praying.

A dark-haired man in a white lab coat and medical scrubs approached her, giving a short nod of greeting before taking the seat beside her. He looked tired as he stared at her sympathetically with his clipboard, nearly as tired as Vivi felt and she'd been awake since she took over driving for Arthur at four in the morning.

Was it really only about a day later? It felt like a lifetime ago.

"How's Arthur?" she asked, too tired and worried to ask anything else first.

"Mr. Kingsman is a very lucky young man. He's in stable condition now and we're moving him up to a room," assured the doctor, looking down at his clipboard. "We just finished a laparotomy to locate and control the internal bleeding from the fall. It should be fixed now, though we'll keep an eye on him in case that changes. The fall also caused a couple cracked ribs on his right side, though thankfully none were completely broken or else they could have punctured a lung. Mr. Kingsman also suffered a mild concussion, a fracture along his collarbone, and a midshaft humerus fracture to his remaining arm. Not to mention an assortment of cuts and contusions, the one along his hairline requiring stitches."

He paused, probably noticing how stiff she'd gone during his description. She was fighting the instinctive urge to tighten her hands. Vivi doubted Lewis' anchor could endure such treatment. The doctor smiled reassuringly.

"I know it sounds bad, but we have him stabilized. I promise. The stitches are in place, his cuts are bandaged, his previous internal bleeding is under control, his broken arm is splinted and immobile, and he's being provided with medicine for the pain. We'll keep an eye on his concussion and his internal injuries. He won't be able to wear his prosthetic for a while. The cracked collarbone and the damage to his shoulder from the attachment being sharply wrenched will need to heal first before adding that weight back. And while the fractured collarbone might require surgery if we can't keep it stable, we'll wait until the swelling around the break goes down and see if it is necessary." He shifted his grip on his clipboard. "For now, your friend's condition is as good as can be expected after his accident. Unless something unexpected happens within in the next few hours, Mr. Kingsman should recover with time."

Vivi couldn't resist breathing a sigh of relief, some of the tension pouring out of her body. Arthur was going to be all right. He was going to be all right. The sight of him when Lewis floated over to the van with Arthur in his arms, pale and still as blood ran down his face, left her worrying that he wouldn't even make it to the hospital. But now the doctor was assuring her that Arthur was going to survive.

"Can I go up to his room?" she asked. "I know this is outside normal visiting hours, but his uncle is still several hours away and I don't want him to be alone. He doesn't have the best experience waking up in hospitals and he has nightmares on a _good_ night."

She was asking, but Vivi already planned to find his room either way. If the doctor, the nurses, or even the janitors tried to keep her away, she would figure out a way to get to her friend anyway. Getting permission would just be easier and involve less sneaking.

"He'll probably be resting for a few hours. Between the concussion, his injuries, and the pain medication, Mr. Kingsman will likely remain unconscious for a little longer. But if you keep quiet and don't disturb anyone, I don't think it would be a problem. I'll let the night staff know to leave you alone."

"Thank you," she said as soon as she stood up from the uncomfortable chair.

"He should be in Room 402. Just take the elevator up to the fourth floor and head down the left hallway," said the doctor before heading back, probably to take care of someone else or possibly drink a gallon of coffee.

Looking back down at the anchor in her hands, Vivi noticed that the dark and tarnished metal seemed a few shades lighter than before she tried speaking to Lewis. And some of the smaller cracks were gone.

Blinking back the burning of forming tears, Vivi smiled. Lewis was improving. He was going to be fine too. Both of her boys would be fine.

"Come back to us, Lewis. We're waiting for you," she whispered, her thumb brushing along the locket gently. "You're safe. I'm safe. Even Arthur is safe. Everyone is fine. We just need you to come back to us."

* * *

Numb and thoughts dulled, he could barely remember who he was. He'd sunk too deeply for memories or emotions to reach him. Even the light pressure of something touching his anchor felt too far away to really pay attention to.

He wasn't certain how long that he remained in the silent, numb, and dull limbo-like state. It could have been a few minutes. It could have been several months. The numbness was a comfort.

He didn't have to think or remember what happened before. He didn't have to feel. Peaceful rest and recovery detached from everything including himself.

But after a few seconds or an eternity, a faint voice floated down and coiled around him. Without magic compulsion threaded through them, the words couldn't reach him. But he could feel it.

 _Blue_. Not cold or sad, but comforting, familiar, and wonderful. _Blue_ was love, energy, and joy. He felt the sensation of _blue_ and it seemed to sink into him, warming and gentle. It seemed to pull him.

But as the voice and the feeling of _blue_ tried to pull him from the depths, it also sparked a little more awareness. He began to recognize. He began to remember. He began to feel.

Vivi. The _blue_ was Vivi's aura. He wasn't sensitive enough to normally recognize auras of non-supernatural entities, but he would recognize her anywhere. Especially when it practically enveloped his anchor. And it felt unmistakably like Vivi.

Her presence soothed and eased the sharp pains and aches that he was only now starting to feel again. Vivi was close, touching his anchor and speaking to him. Vivi was safe and there with him. He wanted to let the feeling of love and comfort wash over him.

But as much as he wanted to go towards Vivi, to leave his locket and manifest properly, he remembered. He remembered the black chain binding his soul to the necromancer's will. He remembered Arthur's terrified smile as he carried his best friend to the cliff edge. He remembered the feeling of letting go. And he remembered Arthur's battered, bloody, and broken body, the young man on the brink of dying.

Those memories hit hard, trying to consume him. Grief, horror, and guilt threatened to destroy him again. The warmth, comfort, and love from Vivi eased some of the hurt, but it wasn't enough to stop all of it. He wanted to let her bring him back. He wanted to go back to her. But it _hurt_ and he didn't deserve her comfort.

Not after what he did.

He couldn't disappear back to the deepest depths of his anchor. Vivi's voice and presence kept pulling him gently and easing the damage to his locket. He couldn't slip away and escape the pain of his guilt. He remained suspended and trapped in between: still within his anchor, but close enough to the surface to still feel and remember.

* * *

His first thought as he gradually began to stir was that someone must have gave him the _good_ drugs. The strong stuff that they gave him in the hospital after his arm was ripped off. He recognized the floaty, light-headed, disconnected feeling.

His second thought as he slowly edged his way back towards awareness, this one a bit more coherent, was wondering if he'd lost another arm.

There was pain, but the drugs pushed it far enough away that he barely noticed. Certainly far enough that he couldn't properly identify what exactly hurt or how much. It seemed pretty generalized. Maybe he did lose another limb. He might not even be able to tell regardless. Phantom limb sensation was _not_ fun.

Arthur slowly pried his eyes opened, which turned out to be an unexpected struggle. His biggest problem wasn't the ache in his head, but the swelling around the left side of his face. Opening his eye took more effort than it should have because his injuries were trying to press it closed. But he managed eventually and saw the sterile environment of a hospital room.

He wasn't dead. He remembered falling, terrified and yet resigned to his fate. And oddly relieved. He should be dead. Arthur knew that he was supposed to be dead. But he was in a hospital, drugged up on pain medicine, and apparently alive.

And as Arthur tried to wake up properly and to come to terms with being alive despite all odds, he began to take stock of his condition. Obviously he must have hit his head. Hence the dull and distant ache, the feeling of gauze wrapped around his forehead, and the swelling across one side of his face. And as he tried to map out the rest of his injuries through the medicated haze, Arthur was relatively certain that there was something wrong with his collarbone and around the port for his prosthetic. A broken bone or just really bad bruising and swelling?

He moved his way mentally down, trying to ignore the soft electronic _beeping_ that suggesting they were monitoring his condition. Breathing felt uncomfortable, hinting at damage to his ribs. Maybe that was why the hospital bed was raised slightly, letting him sit up at a relaxed angle. Maybe they were trying to make it easier for him to breathe. And further down, he thought there might be gauze and a line of distant pain running down his likely-bruised stomach. An incision and stitches, perhaps?

He tried to move his arm, wanting to try and feel how bad his face might look, but something was wrong. Panic briefly bubbled up. Was it gone? Did he actually lose the other one? Arthur barely managed to turn his head slightly and breathed a sigh of relief as he realized the truth. His right arm was still attached, but there was a splint around the upper part and the limb was resting in a sling across his chest. That and the IV line attached to him, undoubtedly providing pain medicine, some type of saline drip, or maybe a blood transfusion, probably meant that moving his arm right now wasn't recommended. But at least he had his limb.

He didn't lose an arm and he wasn't dead. Considering that he fell off a cliff, Arthur decided that he got off lightly.

A quiet and familiar snore pulled his gaze to the left. Sleeping in a chair right next to the bed, her hands cradling something against her chest, was Vivi. The sight caused a feeling of déjà vu, reminding him of the last time he was in a hospital. After the cave…

Arthur wanted to go back to sleep. He was tired, sore, and heavily medicated. But he needed to find out what happened. He needed to know what happened with Benjamin. And what happened to Lewis.

"Vi…?" he whispered, his throat dry and his voice rasping.

She was usually a heavy sleeper. Vivi could doze in the back of a moving vehicle without any problem. And then it took nothing short of an explosion, a shrieking spirit, or her boyfriend kissing her cheek to wake her up when she wasn't ready. But somehow his rough and quiet whisper managed to make her stir.

"Wha…?"

Blinking blearily, Vivi raised her head and looked around the hospital room. He wasn't even certain how much she could see even as she straightened her askew glasses. Then her gaze landed on Arthur and she froze.

"Arthur," said Vivi. Keeping her voice calm and gentle, she continued, "You're awake. How do you feel?"

Trying to smile reassuringly, he said, "Not as bad as I _should_ feel. Any idea how much medication I'm on?"

"Considering that you look like you fell off a cliff, and you actually did, I'm guessing it's… a lot."

The breathy sound wasn't quite a chuckle and bothered his ribs, but Arthur couldn't help it. He needed to laugh about it. It was easier than freaking out.

Then he noticed that he was wearing a hospital gown. Which made sense since he _was_ in a hospital, but that meant he wasn't wearing his jacket. And more importantly, he wasn't wearing his star pin. The chances of being randomly possessed in the hospital might be slim, but he really didn't want to risk it. Mystery made it sound like the damage from the last time would make a second possession particularly dangerous. He really needed that pin back.

"Where's my clothes?" he asked, trying to sound casual and probably failing horribly. "And my prosthetic?"

"In a bag under the bed," she said, pulling out with her left hand. "Though your arm is definitely smashed. And your doctor said you can't wear one until your collarbone heals. That might be a few weeks and he was talking about maybe needing surgery to put in some pins after the swelling goes down. And one of the night nurses who came by mentioned that since they can't wrap cracked ribs without risking you getting pneumonia or something, you're not going to be moving around much in the near future anyway. Sorry."

A few weeks without wearing a prosthetic, his remaining arm in a sling, and probably bed rest for however long cracked ribs took to heal? That wasn't going to be fun. But he was alive and didn't lose any limbs.

Amazing how much the cave changed his perspective on worst case scenarios.

"Could you toss me my star pin from the bag?" asked Arthur. "Or, you know, actually pin it on me? Please?"

Vivi raised an eyebrow at the request, but started digging through the bag. He noticed that she only used one hand in her search. Her right hand kept something cradled to her chest protectively.

Wait… Something slipped through the thick medication-induced mental fog. Something that he should have remembered sooner, but his mind was working sluggishly. Pain killers weren't the best things for focusing. But now he remembered and he needed to ask.

"What happened? The necromancer?" he asked as she pinned the star in place over his heart. "And Lewis? Is Lewis all right?"

Vivi frowned and closed her eyes, reluctantly lowering her hand and revealing a heart-shaped locket. Arthur couldn't help the slight wince. But he'd seen the condition of the anchor when Lewis held him over the cliff. And while it looked bad now, the locket was in better shape than it had been when the ghost let go. While still a deep blue and with a few deep cracks, there were fewer of them crisscrossing the surface.

It wasn't great though.

"Benjamin is in another hospital room probably, getting treated for burns before he's officially arrested for pushing you off a cliff. As for Lewis…" She shook her head and stared down at the small object. "It was almost black before. And it was so badly cracked that I was certain that it would shatter if I even _breathed_ on it wrong. It's… I've been trying to reach him somehow and some of the damaged _has_ healed. But it stopped after a while and nothing I've been doing since has helped." She took a shaking breath. "I'm not even certain Lewis can hear me like this."

Her expression as she rubbed her thumb along the deep and jagged crack made Arthur's heart ache. He wanted to reach out and hug her. But he could barely move the one arm that he had left. He couldn't exactly give his friend a comforting hug when he could only move his fingers and wrist.

But he could try _something_ to help. Though it seemed a little… personal and almost… intimate. Something that Vivi was allowed, but no one else. Granted, Lewis never said so and it was the only idea that Arthur had…

"Hand him over," he said hesitantly.

Vivi stared for a moment before seeming to figure out what Arthur was suggesting. She gently slipped the locket into his upturned palm. And rather than pull away afterwards, she wrapped her fingers around his hand while the anchor remained sandwiched between them. Arthur felt the heart-shaped locket pulse weakly, slower than normal.

He was holding onto Lewis' soul. Or a physical manifestation of it. So yeah, his soul. His cracked and hurt soul. Part of Arthur, the part that whispered or even shouted that it was still his hand that pushed Lewis and that he should have been strong enough to resist the possession somehow, told him now that Lewis wouldn't want Arthur holding onto something so vulnerable and fragile. That he would never trust Arthur enough to allow that if he was truly aware of what was happening. But it was the only idea that Arthur had to reach him.

"Come on, big guy," he said quietly. "It wasn't your fault. And I'm fine. I'm here."

"We're both here," added Vivi. "We're safe. You're safe."

The anchor pulsed a little more strongly in their combined grip. Maybe Lewis could hear them or he could feel them holding his anchor. Either way, he was reacting.

"Everything is going to be fine, Lewis," he said. "We just need you back."

* * *

The familiar and comforting _blue_ of Vivi kept him company for an unknown stretch of time, though he wasn't sure that he deserved it. Memories and guilt clawed at him sharply. He wanted to return to the earlier numb obliviousness of the deepest depths of his anchor. But he couldn't leave completely. Not when he could feel her distant touch on the locket and her _blueness_. So he remained somewhere in between.

But eventually he felt something else. A new sensation. _Amber_. It felt fragile, broken, and vulnerable. But the aura of _amber_ also conjured up feelings of friendship. Years of close friendship. A bond that was strained and nearly broken, but eventually healed. Friendship, loyalty, and a quiet courage. He also felt fear, regret, guilt, and worry coming from the feeling _amber_.

Just as familiar as Vivi's _blue_. Just as important and equally cared for, but different.

… _Arthur_?

It couldn't be. Arthur was dying, dying, _dying_ … He dropped him off a cliff. Murdering a murderer who was _not_ a murderer. It was his fault.

But the _amber_ was Arthur. Even with his limited awareness and barely able to think in his current state, he knew. Vivi's bright _blue_ and Arthur's vulnerable _amber_. Both of them were so close to him. Both of them were safe.

The realization warmed him, soothing and easing the emotional distress. Arthur and Vivi were all right. He let it wash over him. And he felt himself rising back towards the surface and out of the anchor.

* * *

Arthur waited patiently, trying not to feel silly holding Vivi's hand like this. And trying not to doze off since apparently head injuries and pain killers made staying awake a challenge. But he needed to shake that off currently. He could feel the steady beat against his palm, growing stronger with each passing moment.

Eventually a few tendrils of magenta smoke slipped between their fingers. Smiling, Arthur and Vivi loosened their combined grip just as a familiar shape manifested in a flash of supernatural flames.

"Lewis!" said Vivi, flinging herself at the ghost and hugging tightly almost instantly. "You scared me half to death. Are you all right?"

His arms wrapped around the shorter figure, Lewis managed a shaky nod. Then the skull and formal suit vanished from sight as the image of his living self slipped into place. Vivi pulled his face down and kissed him deeply.

But even as Lewis sank into the embrace and the kiss, his emotional state didn't look completely fixed. His eyes were closed, but Arthur could already see tears streaked down his face. Lewis might not be able to cry tears in his normal ghost form, but his alternate appearance made it clear that he would have been crying for a long time by now. Not even Vivi could instantly erase the guilt and grief.

"Glad to see you, big guy," Arthur said, glancing down at his hand briefly and noticing that the cracks were nearly gone and the proper color had been restored. "We were worried."

Lewis startled at his words, pulling back from the hug and apparently noticing his surroundings for the first time. Glowing magenta eyes surrounded by blackness glanced around the hospital room before landing on the patient. The lights narrowed to pinpricks in the darkness.

"Arthur?"

"It's me, Lewis. I'm a little banged up, but I'll be fine," he assured, smiling as much as possible with the swelling to his face. Moving his hand slightly to draw attention back to the locket, Arthur added, "Though you probably want this back."

Breathing unsteadily and blinking against the tears, Lewis stared at him. His gaze moved from the swelling across the left side of Arthur's face to the gauze around his head to the arm in the sling. And with his living features in place, there was no hiding the guilt and regret on his face.

Arthur knew exactly what was going through his head. He knew exactly what Lewis was thinking. Probably better than anyone else.

"Don't even think of trying to apologize, Lewis. This isn't your fault," he said. Though Arthur did have to admit that hearing his friends tell him the exact same thing had never worked, he continued forward because he didn't have a better plan. "I told you already. It wasn't you. You didn't do this."

"You're hurt. You could have died. I dropped you off a cliff."

"Because a crazy necromancer made you," Arthur said firmly. "Like that thing from the cave made me attack you. I'd call us even except _I'm_ still alive. So if you two won't let me blame myself, you're not allowed to blame yourself."

"It could happen again someday. I couldn't stop myself. Someone could do that again and next time…"

As the ghost trailed off, Arthur said, "It won't. It won't happen again. We'll find a way to protect you."

Unsurprisingly, Lewis didn't look completely convinced. It wasn't easy to forgive yourself even when possession or magical amulets were to blame. If it was easy, then Arthur wouldn't still be struggling with his own guilt months later.

And that fear… The fear that it could happen again… That someone could take away your free will and make you do things that horrified you… Arthur knew that guilt and fear intimately. It was hard to face.

But he knew something that might help. Maybe it was his drug-addled brain suggesting insane ideas since Arthur didn't think that he would normally consider risking it, but he hated the look on Lewis' face. Or the way that he wouldn't meet Arthur's eyes and barely reacted when Vivi took his arm.

"Lewis, it wasn't you. You wouldn't hurt us and this will never happen again. I still trust you completely." Taking a shaking breath to steady his nerves because the idea terrified him, Arthur said, "Try and possess me."

* * *

Lewis nearly lost his grip on his living appearance in shock, the edges of his form flickering like a guttering flame. He couldn't have heard right. But Vivi's sudden inhale beside him suggested that she heard the same unbelievable words.

Arthur looked scared by his own suggestion. Then again, he didn't look that great to begin with. Half his face was pale while the other was a mottle of colors, bruising and swelling causing one eye to squint. And both eyes looked glassy, probably from pain medicine. His remaining arm remained in a sling while a line for an IV snaked over.

Guilt and regret clawed at Lewis despite Arthur's previous remarks. Not enough to send him into a dangerous downward spiral like before, but enough that logic couldn't stop the sting. The necromancer might be responsible for his actions, but Lewis was the one who let go.

"Try and possess me, Lewis," repeated Arthur, forcing his voice to keep steady.

Staring at his best friend and trying to make sense of what was happening, he asked, "Why… why would you ask for that?"

"To prove a point. To prove that nothing like this will ever happen again."

"Enigmatic statements are usually Mystery's job," Lewis said, trying to focus on anything other than Arthur's injuries or his request.

Half grinning, Arthur said, "Vivi, could you lend me a hand? Specifically, grab my prosthetic and smack Lewis in the head?"

That startled a few chuckles out of the ghost, a reaction mirrored by Vivi. The joke wasn't even that good. But it was so corny and was exactly the sort of dumb joke that Arthur would have made when they were growing up. It was familiar and grounding after everything that happened.

But that feeling eventually passed and they were left with Arthur's request looming over him.

"I don't know if I can do that to you," said Lewis. "I don't want to hurt you… Not again."

It was a blessing that the dead couldn't properly sleep. That meant he no longer could dream. That meant he wouldn't have to see what happened in nightmares. But he still knew that his actions would haunt him.

"You didn't hurt me. And you won't hurt me now," Arthur said.

As if to punctuate his words, Arthur gave the locket a gentle squeeze in his hand. Lewis felt the pressure on his anchor, but it wasn't uncomfortable or too tight. It reminded him of someone squeezing his shoulders encouragingly. And when Vivi added her support by hugging his arm, Lewis reluctantly decided to try.

Not that he knew _how_ to possess someone. Being a ghost didn't exactly come with an instruction manual. And while Mystery had started trying to teach him a few things as best he could when Mystery wasn't a ghost either, possession wasn't one of the lessons. But most of his abilities were fairly intuitive. He managed to create a mansion subconsciously. How hard could this be?

Granted, Mystery claimed that Lewis didn't have much finesse or fine control yet, his power more blunt and explosive. But Lewis would be careful.

And quick. He wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.

Working off instincts and guesswork, Lewis let his power move towards Arthur. All he could think to do was try to plunge into Arthur's body the same way that he would slip into his locket. Lewis hesitated a moment, still uncomfortable with the idea, before he—

Sharp pain jolted through him and knocked Lewis against the wall behind him, the ghost yelping in surprise as he crashed. The pain faded as quickly as it hit, but it took a moment for the buzzing in his skull to die back down.

Oh, his skull… He lost his grip on his living appearance.

Shaking off the rest of the effects, Lewis began to notice that Vivi and Arthur were talking. Quickly and frantically.

"What did you _do_? Why would you do that?"

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't know it would be like _that_."

"Why are you suggesting things anyway? You're on pain meds! And why did we listen?"

"I'm fine," interrupted Lewis. When both of them gained nearly identical expressions of relief, he added, "Felt like I walked into an electric fence though…"

Smiling sheepishly and his fingers trying to wrap around the empty space his prosthetic should have occupied, Arthur said, "Yeah, sorry about that. I just thought it would block you. I didn't know it packed a punch like that."

"What was it?" Vivi asked.

Indicating the star pin on his hospital gown using only his eyes, Arthur said, "Since I'm apparently supernaturally delicious by now, Mystery helped fix this up for me. It's pretty much a talisman or whatever designed to keep anyone from possessing me. It makes sure that what happened in the cave never happens again. That no one will ever make me hurt any of you."

Lewis could fill in the rest. Arthur's point was that if there was a way to protect him from a repeat performance, then there might be a way to do the same thing for Lewis. A way to make sure that a necromancer or whatever wouldn't bind his soul to their will again. No one would ever make him a puppet again.

"We'll ask Mystery when he gets back," said Vivi, taking the locket from Arthur gently. She handed it back to Lewis with a small smile. "For now, let's get some rest. It's probably five or six in the morning. I'm tired, so I can only imagine how tired the both of you are. Plus, I think that nurse will be back soon to check on Arthur. Assuming that woman isn't _deaf_. We weren't exactly quiet in here…" She shook her head briefly. "I suggest that we snooze until breakfast, Mystery gets back, or Lance shows up and demands explanations. Whichever comes first."

Lewis knew she was right. She didn't have her normal energetic sparkle in her eyes. And Arthur needed rest if he wanted to recover. He could barely keep his eyes open already, reaching the end of his limited energy. Honestly, Lewis could do with a little more recovery time as well. He certainly didn't think he could keep up his living appearance if someone showed up.

He handed his anchor to Vivi and pressed his skull briefly to her forehead, as close to a kiss as he could manage without lips. Then he slipped back into the shiny, golden, and intact locket.

* * *

Feet sore and his limbs exhausted from running all night in his natural shape to establish multiple false trails, Mystery entered the hospital. He may not be able to use his full capabilities in his canine form, but illusions were child's play for his kind. He pulled a thin veil across himself and vanished for mundane sight. No one saw a small dog walk through the door, slip into an elevator as someone exited, and press a button with his nose.

Tracking his pups through the building didn't take much effort. Lewis was a powerful ghost, even while hurt. He left a clear path from his passage. And Vivi's bright soul practically sang out to him, just as it did from the start. And when he drew close, Arthur's weak and torn aura remained tempting and noticeable as an easy target. Though it was slowly healing from what happened at the cave. Slowly, but thankfully healing. Finding the scents for all three reassured him more than anything else.

His pups were safe. All three were safe.

But it wasn't enough to pick up their trails. Mystery stepped into the room. He needed to see and not just sense.

The hospital bed held his most fragile pup. He could see the injuries, though the wounds were bound and the blood cleaned up. He slept deeply; exhaustion, blood loss, and drugs provided him a dreamless slumber. The star pin rested above his heart, protecting his soul from attacks.

Sprawled in a chair next to the bed, Vivi snored. Physically, she survived the night intact. The necromancer never touched her. In fact, by figuring out how to enchant an object and apparently channeling her heritage a bit, Vivi caused the man quite a bit of trouble. But not all pain was physical. She suffered last night as well.

Resting on her lap, giving off a firm and steady beat, was Lewis' anchor. But the deep cracks were nearly gone and the golden color had returned. The ghost was already healing. Even after nearly breaking completely, Lewis was recovering.

His pups were safe. They were healing.

Mystery paused to nudge the locket with his paw. A ghost's anchor could reveal what they cared about most. If a ghost remained after death out of love rather than more aggressive emotions, it would undoubtedly show the target of their affection inside. Mystery caught a glimpse once early on, when Lewis was mostly fueled by the twin impulses of fury and desire to be with his girlfriend again. He saw a picture of Lewis holding Vivi close.

As he nudged it open, Mystery saw the image had changed. And a second one had appeared on the other side. The newest picture showed the rest of the Pepper family: Lewis' parents, Cayenne, Bell, and Paprika. And the altered picture now showed Lewis with Vivi, but also Arthur and Mystery.

It was a good sign. There was a better balance and there were more people to help keep him grounded now. That would help, though Lewis was still keeping some distance from his family since his return. Reconnecting with all his loved ones would be good for him in the long run. Mystery didn't want to see his pup turn into a mindless wraith like some ghosts did.

Yawning and stretching briefly, Mystery crept under the hospital bed and dropped the illusion. He should be hidden for the moment. And, reassuring himself for a final time that his pups were safe, he let himself drift off to sleep.

* * *

Blood dripped from the dying creature, a tall humanoid beast covered in fur with only minor illusion magic to make it harder to capture its image. Most of it soaked into the forest floor for her to absorb, though she took a moment to lick a few drops from the edge of her shears. The flavor was delicious. And the blood of a strong supernatural creature, and especially its lifeblood, increased her magic. The sensation filled her ecstasy.

But even as she grew stronger with every victim, she was still searching.

He couldn't hide forever. Not with his blood responsible for her existence. Not with her power and abilities growing with each death, blood and magic nurturing her like the rain and the sun. The two of them were bound together by the blood he shed so many centuries ago, no matter how much he tried to deny it and run away.

She should have killed that _onna-bugeisha_ before the human ruined everything. He would have understood about the other humans eventually. Dying humans didn't matter as long as their blood provided nourishment. He would have understood if she explained it properly.

But that _onna-bugeisha_ came to her forest, _their forest_ , and accused him of the deaths. The human fought and he didn't know why. She tried to silence the human, but she wasn't powerful enough. Not until the _onna-bugeisha_ spilled _his_ blood…

She gave a sharp-toothed grin. Even now the memory of his blood and his magic sent a shiver of pleasure through her. She wanted more.

But he fled. Back then, she could not yet follow. It took time to grow strong enough, most _yōkai_ and other creatures of magic cautious enough to avoid her forest. The deaths of normal humans provided nourishment, but it didn't help her grow as quickly. And he hid his power for a long time, meaning that she could not find his trail once she was strong enough.

Until months ago. When he unleashed his magic and she followed their bond across an ocean. But he wasn't making it easy. She kept losing his trail across this vast continent.

So she kept looking and growing stronger. He couldn't run forever. And when she found him again, she would bring him home to their beautiful white forest growing on the bones of the dead… or she would drink his lifeblood as he died in front of her, his blood and magic nourishing her and making her stronger than ever.

She would decide which when she found him.

A strange feeling in the air drew her attention away from the warm blood in front of her. Blinking in surprise and deciding to trust her intuition, she raised her hand.

From her palm sprouted a red lotus, the flower strong and healthy. And connected to a very specific soul. One she recognized instantly.

Shiromori's smile grew wider, predatory and hungry. She'd found his trail again.

She blew the blossom gently, the petals taking flight with no regard for the wind. Then the blue-skinned Jubokko burrowed into the ground, her white hair and the pale cherry-blossoms of the bonsai the last to disappear.

No sign of her presence remained except the cooling body of a dead bigfoot and the last few drops of drying blood.

 **Yeah... Did I mention that this has become a series and I have a planned sequel? After all, we've got to deal with Shiromori eventually. So keep an eye out for "Tied to the Past." Hopefully you'll like it.**


End file.
